Moving On
by RT4ever
Summary: Set after FN...How do Max and Logan go on together while letting go of their dream to be together.
1. When Hope Disappears

Another bad title, it's becoming a habit with me. Okay so this is a Post-Freak Nation story, it's part of a different story I had been working on as like a Season 3, but it was too flawed and I didn't feel like having to fix it all. This also just pulls out one aspect I had liked in that story and made it larger.

Freak Nation I've seen set at dozens of different times (why they couldn't have made the dates clearer throughout the season I do not know. I mean honestly one holiday…haha, this be a main reason behind my flawed season 3 that I scrapped, damn pregnant Gem, totally forgot about the whole 9 month thing).

Max and Logan have been dealing with this virus for at least 7 months. 7 months is a long time to keep up that hope for a cure, a hope to get their lives back. This is their story of letting go…I hope you enjoy…Oh and this is going to be a longer story, so if you want more, if you like this idea, please let me know, please leave a reply. Oh and any criticisms always appreciated. Hey if anyone has the exact dates down and wants me to change the ones in this story, just tell me. I can still adjust them.

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**Chapter One **

_When Hope Is Lost   
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Max Voiceover (Watching the flag)-

I don't know why I've come back up here, long after everyone's left. I don't think it's to admire Joshua's talent. I don't know what this feeling is coursing through me, I don't know if it's determination, resolve, or a responsibility to this so-called family of mine.

Maybe it's that I can't ask hundreds of people to run like I ran, I can't do that to them. This world only became important to me when I stopped running, until then I really was just a number, I wasn't somebody that would be missed. I guess I want them to have that chance, _to actually matter._

I don't want to run anymore, I haven't in a long time. It's how they ended up out of there, me wanting to be free set them free, so I guess I'm responsible now.

It's funny though, I'm standing here looking up at this flag as the dusk is settling on it for the first time ever, I realize that my future probably won't be as bright as theirs.

I know some will fall in this stand, Cece already has, but there's a real life out there for so many. There will be families, there will be loves, there will be friends, they'll have years and years…_But what do I have besides responsibilities?_ I mean I know I have friends; I have the best friends in people like Original Cindy, Logan, and Joshua, hell even Alec and Sketchy.

My love, that's gone and I think it's gonna stay gone. As hard as that is to admit. It's almost March, in a few months it'll have been a year since we took down the lab at Manticore, mine and Logan's second anniversary.

_(brushing away tears) _

A year since my future seemed so bright, I really thought when I left that night that I would do what he said, that I would come home.

I mean I guess I did, 3 months later I was standing in his apartment, but one thing was proven, they're right _you can't go home again. _As much as I want to, that life is over. 7 months of this virus. 7 months and seeing him and having to stay away. One month of him believing I've moved on. I kept up the hope really long that we would find a way to beat this, that this damn bitch would go down. Part of me still believed it as I walked out of his apartment leaving him shattered. I believed one day I could knock at his door and raise myself up for a kiss.

That one day as he slept I would just slide in between the sheets and be there for when he woke up.

One day that I would grab his arm as he grabbed mine and laugh at him as he freaked out waiting for the virus to take over and then seeing that relief as he realized he was fine. Watching that smile spread across his face, that smile that warmed me in a way I had never known possible.

I stopped believing today; _one day is never going to come_.

They raised the flag as he held my hand and all I was thinking is remember what this feels like. Remember this forever because it's going to be gone soon.

_(tears allowed to freely fall) _

I don't why it is I feel this. I don't know what happened as they raised that flag. I was closer to him in these past three days than we had been in months, maybe even ever. In that moment, it didn't seem like anything was separating us, but I knew it was coming. I knew that it was the end. I've been trying to understand it all day. I can't figure out this feeling, I can't figure out why all of my hope has died. 7 months of hoping and praying and it's gone.

_I know I've lost him._

This is my life now and while I know he'll never abandon me or these people or this cause, I know that my days of hoping are gone. Seven months, seven long months without anything to show for it except that this is one hell of a bitch of a virus and he's almost died twice.

So today as everyone celebrated their freedom and this fight, I was saying goodbye to everything I had ever dreamed of, everything I fought against, everything I denied wanting.

Logan's gone.

_It's time for us both to move on._

-o-o-o-

The roof door opens, "Hey Maxie, been lookin for you."

Max brushes away her tears "Something happen?"

"No same old same old, just hadn't been yelled at in awhile so I started to worry." Alec says walking over

She laughs

"Hey you okay?" he asks looking down and seeing the red eyes and tear stains.

She nods, but allows herself to be engulfed by his arms.

The door opens again and they separate quickly, she turns to see Logan, no visible emotion on his face, "Original Cindy's looking for you, Max."

"Where is she?"

"Mess Hall."

"I'll be right down."

He nods and allows the door to shut.


	2. The Air Stands Still

Yea just wanna thank the person who wants Max and Alec together for pointing out the fact that I never said it was Alec who came and hugged Max, just kinda slipped past me, for those who didn't read the changed versionI'm sure you figured that out. Yea as for all the basic stuff, if I actually managed to only write in one tense, be amazed, my creative writing teacher is probably dying from shock as we speak, don't expect it to happen again, I love switching tenses a dozen times in a single page. I switched schools in middle school and those are the skills I missed learning that and the Civil War. Luckily only one of these things is an issue in story writing...Hope you guys enjoy. Thanks for reading and always thanks for replying.

* * *

**Chapter Two **

_The Air Stands Still_

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Max Voiceover-

4 days later:

"Hey Logan's coming in" Alec said strolling up, "Bringing some stragglers too."

I'm not surprised by this, our recent media coverage has attracted more people here, why I don't really know, but it has. Personally I'm pretty amazed almost everyone stayed, I would have been long gone, even after the speech I gave.

"How many?" I ask, knowing that even one would try our already taxed resources. We've got somewhere around 300 people here, a handful come and a handful go everyday. We're smart, a hell of a lot smarter than the cops and National Guard covering us. We've been able to get in and out, despite their best intentions of keeping us in. Logan will take the sewers, they've proven to be the safest and easiest of the routes, of course they're also the longest and the smelliest.

" Logan didn't say. Should be here soon. Guess we'll find out then." Alec says as he walks away.

I go back to my business at hand, groaning as I go over the list someone handed to me for the supplies we'd need to keep us functioning for another week. We don't have the resources to get all the supplies. I have no idea how to procure this stuff, I have no idea even if we were able to locate someone who could get it to us, how to get it in here. Sure we've got your mutants made for this, but how fast are they going to be carrying all this shit and running from the cops?

I groan once more and lean over the paper and onto the waiting table.

"Hey newcomers" Someone calls out and I look up, knowing Logan will be with them. My one bright spot in the day. He'll smile as he walks in, that smile that's only for me, me even though he thinks I'm with Alec. It's wrong to still be happy about that, but I am. He, OC and Sketch left only yesterday with a few X-5's. They took so long to leave because he'd been setting up our com system so they couldn't hear us and they couldn't be able to knock it out like they did our last. Nice to have a hacker boyfriend. I groan, then quickly look around hope others didn't see or hear me groan, _it would just be nice to have a boyfriend again._

My mind continues to wander as I wonder if it's my imagination or if the air actually stills when he walks into a room, he has this weird stride, it's confident and purposeful all while being cocky and relaxed, he moves with this beautiful ease when he's on his own two feet. I always wondered what it would be like to dance with him, to dance with him without the exo, which while it made him walk, it wasn't his walk.

There he is…Walking into my view.

Black cap to hide from the pigs, black windbreaker still glistening in spots from the rain and whatever dripped on him in the sewer and light blue jeans. His arm isn't in his sleeve though. _Was he hurt? _I start to stand as he shrugs the jacket off from his shoulder and I realize that clutching his black ribbed shirt is a small child, a baby really, maybe a year, year and a half covered by a towel, his hair a light blonde. Logan grabs the cuff of his other sleeve with the hand he is using to carry to child and his ease is remarkable, it looked like he'd been doing it for years. He throws it onto a folding chair, on which it half lands then drops his head to kiss the baby's head.

His eyes don't immediately scan for me; he kinda tickles the baby's chin and talks to him before he even looks around the room. I start walking to him before he even looks for me. I realize with growing dread that his heart is no longer mine.


	3. Innocent Victims

Okay so I guess I need to be clearer in what this story is….This is not a Max lying to herself that she isn't in love with Logan story.

Max is as in love with Logan now as she ever has been, I had her say it in the opening scene that in the three days between what happened at Jam Pony to Joshua's flag being raised they were as close if not closer than they had ever been. It's just that Max realized that she and Logan probably won't get the Disney ending as they were watching the flag together.

This isn't her worrying about killing him, it's that they don't get to be what they had always wanted to be, it's a love from afar now. She'll never stop loving him, but she has no hope left for them finding a way to be with each other as they both want to be with each other. It's them both trying to figure out how to move on while still loving each other, watching each other as they move on.

Hmm I hope that clarified the story. Oh it will be angst ridden at times because they'll want to be the person they see the other embrace, the one they kiss, it'll tear their hearts out at times because that's what happens. They just don't have any choice in the matter… Hope you enjoy this chapter.

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**Chapter Three **

_Innocent Victims_

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"Hey," Max says walking up "Who's the little fella?"

He smiles as he looks down "An X-8"

"There are X-8's?" Max frowns, why had she never heard of them?

"Rumor has it only a few, apparently someone trashed their DNA Lab before they really got up and running" he grins.

She froze; she hadn't thought about children when taking down Manticore, how had little children escaped?

He knew her thoughts, over a year together, they weren't that hard, or at least this one wasn't "It's okay Max, there were only a few, according to the people this one was with, they all got out." He smiles again to reassure her.

She swallows hard

"Not lying Max, I'm telling you exactly what they told me, they had no reason to lie."

She shook her head, trying to forget that she may have aided in the death of children, "Who'd you come in with?" No one else entered the main room despite the fact that she'd heard _Newcomers _coming from the hallway.

Logan's grin fell, "3 guys like Mole" he looked out for blood, "Apparently they were with an x-5 female, who had been taking care of this little guy up until a week ago, when she got shot. Made them promise not to just abandon the kid." He shook his head "They handed him to me the moment I got into their building. Kid has a diaper rash like you wouldn't believe, they were letting him just wander around the building in a shirt in this weather."

Max made a face "That building must have smelled worse than the sewers."

The grin returned "Close."

"So what do we do with him?" Max said stepping closer to examine the child's sleeping face.

"My guess is hope that the girls in the nursery can share their mothering."

Max groaned as she looked up at Logan "You're aware we're soldiers and mothering comes a little harder to us than it does to normal people right?"

He laughed and shifted the now sleeping baby a bit in his arms "I've seen Gem with Ronnie"

"That girl is an exception the rule; the others are all like I would be."

He gave her a disbelieving look "I saw you with Brittany."

Max shook her head thinking of the 3 screaming babies that constituted their nursery, "I could reason with Brittany, I could bribe her with food, those kids though…" Max groaned "All they do is cry"

Logan frowned and looked down at the little guy against his chest.

Max laughed "Don't worry. I promise we'll all get better with the babies."

Logan frowned again, even though he didn't mean to and readjusted the sleeping baby.

Max reached out and stroked the baby's back where the towel had slipped down "So you said he's a he right?"

"Yea little boy, at least a year, probably a little older than that by the way he walks. This kid can move." He said patting the baby's back like a proud daddy.

"Hey Logan" One of the X-5's Max had sent out with Logan yesterday, Zen came up to them. "I put the kid's stuff in the nursery. He turned to Max "We got iodine tabs, some gas, some food, not a lot though and some more blankets."

Max groaned "We need food a lot more than we need blankets."

"How long we good for?" Logan asked the fair haired boy standing before him.

"6 days."

Logan nodded at Max, "We can go again long before six days are up."

"If they haven't blocked the tunnels yet. You guys are lucky you didn't get caught as it was."

Zen laughed, "Not luck, skill."

Max frowned, there was something how he said that…She turned to Logan and wasn't at all surprised to see a guilty look on his face that he couldn't hide, "What happened?"

"Neighbors tipped the cops off to the fact there were 3 amphibians living next door to them."

"Yea" Zen said dropping a hand to pat the baby on his head "This little guy's lucky Logan was there. Cops were coming in the front door and the fuckin guys we brought here went out the back. Logan barely stayed ahead of the bullets going upstairs."

Max turned to Logan and saw him grimacing

"Dude me and Vida got back in time to see Logan going out a side window."

"A second story side window?"

"Well the front and back were covered by cops." He tried to interject some humor, to save himself from Max's gaze, hadn't worrying once been his job?

" Logan, you could have been killed" Max's voice was raised to just below a yell

The baby whimpered and started to wake, "I couldn't just leave him Max, you wouldn't have." Logan said as he turned the awaking baby into the crook of his arm.

Max was about to go off on the fact that she was an X-series and meant to do things like that, but then she looked down onto thinned out cheeks, proof that this little guy hadn't had an easy time these past seven months on the run and into blue eyes, innocent blue eyes. She couldn't help but smile, "So what do we call him? Already named a kid Bullet, so Window?" she said jokingly

Logan laughed as he looked down at the baby, "I've never named anything, I had one dog as a kid and my mom named her," he shook his head "Muffin" he made a face.

Max stifled a laugh, trying to imagine a little Logan throwing a stick yelling _Fetch Muffin._

"Why not Cale since he wouldn't be here without Logan?"

"Cale?" Logan made another face

"What's wrong with Cale?" she asked

"I hated being called Cale."

"Well too bad because I think we've just named the baby that." Max looked down at the blue eyes watching everything intently "Hey Cale" she said with a smile as she stroked his cheek and the baby gurgled, "Sorry Logan, Cale likes his name."

He shook his head "Cale, what kind of a name is Cale."


	4. Everything We'd Miss

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**Chapter Four **

_Everything We'd Miss_

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* * *

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**_Max Voiceover (Top of the Command Platform)-_**

Another day has passed and the city is once more quiet. A few stragglers hang around, our night crew, everyone else is in their quarters, spread all across this twenty block stretch. The ones on the outskirts along with the guards we have posted are there watching the outside streets and making sure we stay safe. Logan's in the main building, this building. Fast asleep in the same room with Alec, Logan however is on a couch which is shockingly almost long enough to fit his body, while Alec's on the floor. I checked in on them a little while ago, asleep in what's basically an office, but works best for them both so they can be by my side in seconds if anything goes wrong.

The sight of Logan, his glasses off and looking my age in sleep with a small baby covered in a baby blue terry onesie resting on his chest…

I don't really know how to describe it besides from right.

Maybe it's because Cale looks like Logan. I know his hair is lighter and his eyes are blue and not Logan's green, but seeing them together, they just fit…

Logan's 32. I guess it makes sense. Seeing him with Cale is proof that I did the right thing letting him go, it's everything I'm keeping him from, everything he deserves. He would have waited year after year, watching his cousins marry and have kids; he would have just been waiting for the day he could hold my hand again. He starting to understand though now, he's understanding everything he's missing, everything I can't give him.

Logan's the only person I ever dreamed of having a family with, he's the only person I ever thought about marrying. That entire first year we were together, we were both fighting it so hard, but I would see kids and parents on the street and I would think of Logan and me. I would see a little girl with dark hair and light eyes and I would wonder if our daughter would look like that. I would always be so confused by it, but it happened regardless of how hard I tried to fight it, it would come from out of nowhere.

I would see how people looked at us as if we were a couple, I would see them smile from the next table when I would pick on Logan. I would see their eyes glisten as he'd reach across the table and take my hand. I would see them nod in approval when Logan would take out his wallet every time the bill came because that's what men were supposed to do.

Sometimes I would forget myself, that he wasn't my boyfriend, that it wasn't a date.

That's all gone now though, slowly but surely it's leaving. We're being forced to move on.

There isn't going to be a cure, there's no one left anywhere around to give us one. I haven't stopped looking, I know he hasn't either, it's just that there's no one around who can beat this for us. Who knows maybe in 20 years when the rest of the scientific world is as advanced as Manticore was, maybe then I can hug him at his kids' graduations, but there is no here and now for Logan and I.


	5. Girlie Girl

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**Chapter Five **

_Girlie Girl_

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Max's Quarter's:

Max tried to hide her apprehension as Original Cindy pulled back her hair back into a pony tail.

"So how much you gonna cut off?" she tried to sound nonchalant.

"Don't you worry Boo, you're still gonna be beautiful." Followed by a snip and a pony tail full of Max's hair was dropped into her lap. Max swallowed deeply as she looked at the eight inches of hair no longer on her head.

_Shoulder length I can handle that she thought. _

"Okay I just gotta mix this up and we'll get this going."

Max turned in fear, shocked at herself for acting like this, after all this was only hair and she'd spent the first half of her life with almost none. "Mix what up?"

"Aww Max, it's gonna be okay girl. We just gotta lighten up your hair."

"How light?"

Original Cindy nodded "Light"

Max groaned and wondered if she couldn't just spend the rest of this siege inside Terminal City.

"Okay this is starting to burn" Max said trying to get up from the seat.

Original Cindy put a hand on Max's shoulder and held her in place and didn't even bother to look at her hair, after all it had only been five minutes, "It's all in your mind boo, your hair is fine."

"No, no really I think it's burning, we should wash it out."

"I think this toxicity and isolation has gone to your brain, we take it out now Max and you end up with orange hair, now just sit back and calm down."

-o-o-o-

"Wait, no, that is not going on my eyebrows. Are you insane, do you want me to be blind?"

"Oh just shut up already, swear to god. Can't believe you're going all girly on me now, you took getting shot better. "

-o-o-o-

"Seriously it's starting to burn." Max said for the second time and raised her hand to touch it.

Original Cindy dropped the brush and grabbed her hand back down, "You mess up that hand, I'll put the smack down on ya" and grabbed her other hand back as she picked up the nail polish again.

"It's really burning though" Max said in a little voice.

She dropped the brush back into the bottle again and let out a long breath; she stood and flicked up a piece of Max's hair with her nail. "Oooh dammit, over the bucket." They both started laughing as they scrambled over to the fake sink Cindy had set up in her room.

-o-o-o-

"Why are you picking up those scissors again?"

Cindy rolled her eyes; she had never believed it was possible for her girl to act like this over hair, her bike maybe, but never her hair. "Because all I did was cut off enough so I wouldn't waste the dye on hair that wasn't going to be there."

"How short are you going to cut it?" her eyes looked up at Cindy's, all innocent and doe like.

"Max, hunny calm down, trust Original Cindy on this you're gonna be beautiful."

-o-o-o-

"I look like I'm twelve" Max said in horror looking at the small mirror her friend was holding up for her.

Original Cindy barely contained her laughter at her friend's horror stricken eyes. "You don't look like you're twelve."

Max turned from the mirror, the chin length blonde bob swung with her, "Yes I do."

"No you don't. Okay maybe 18. But that's what we were going for Max, all that tough biker chick is gone. Now I also brought you some lip gloss and some different eye shadows for when you go out and no more black. I only brought light colored shirts. You need a complete overhaul so they don't recognize you as the hover drone surfer."

Max just groaned.

"Shut up. You and me get to go shopping today because of all of this and there's this new girl at the farmer's market, comes in with her parents every weekend…Hmm shugga, you gotta see her."


	6. Girl Talk

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**Chapter Six **

_Girl Talk_

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"I vote we skip going through the main room, why do you want to through the main room?" Max said as Cindy dragged her down the hallway outside of her quarter's.

"Because I want to show off my handiwork. Girl, you look hot."

"I look like I'm 14"

"Well that's 2 years older than you thought you looked a half an hour ago. We're making some progress. Anyway Logan was telling me all about Cale as we walked over."

Max laughed, "How's the little guy doing? Last time I saw him he still wasn't talking."

" Logan swears that any day the kid will start up again…Something about being traumatized from all the changes. So what's the deal with that anyway?"

Max shook her head, unable to provide an answer, "I don't really know, Logan and I are pretty busy doing our own things here. We just kinda see each other more in passing."

Original Cindy stopped, "What happened?" completely forgetting she had been asking about Cale and more interested in what was happening to the grownups in the situation.

Max stopped and turned, "Nothing happened, nothing changed. He still thinks I'm with Alec."

"What happened to all that hand holding?"

Max shrugged, tried not to look hurt, "We've gotta move on. I mean we can't be what we wanna be."

Max started to walk away, "Oh no missy, get back here."

Max turned back, her shoulders dropped, "Can we please not make a big deal over this? There is nothing Logan and I can do, we both need to just move on."

"No, you need to tell me what happened."

Max gave a sad shake of her head, "No idea. I knew it was coming though. I understood when I saw him with Cale. I mean he's never going to have any of that stuff…Not if we're both waiting for something that's never going to happen."

"How do you know it's never going to happen?"

"Seven months, seven months and what do we have to show for it? An hour? I mean come on."

"Max there are other docs out there."

"Not 'round here there aren't. It's over, they're gone. Me and Logan, we're gone."

"I don't believe that" Original Cindy said waving a finger, "You and him, you've gone through too much to just be over." She started walking again.

Max join in step, "We aren't over, I mean we're never really going to be over, I'm always gonna love him, but we both deserve something more than that. I mean hell the boy's got his legs back and he doesn't even get to put that action to use." Max froze and paled

"Just thought of your hot boy being someone else's hot boy?"

Max waved her hand "It's not like it's gonna happen overnight. I've got some time to get used to the idea."

"Max," Original Cindy could almost laugh at the absurdity of Max's words, "Asha," she said the name with emphasis, "you wanted that girl dead and she never even touched your man."

Max frowned, "If he touches her, he's dead along with her."

Original Cindy laughed as they approached the main room, "Don't worry boo, that blonde's just gonna look trashy when he sees this blonde."

-o-o-o-

"Boys do you ever do any work around here?" Original Cindy said approaching Logan and Alec on the floor playing with Cale.

They both looked up from the brightly colored pop up toy they had been playing with, Alec gave a fake look of outrage, "We're trying to develop Cale's verbal skills, if that's not worthwhile work, I don't know what is."

Logan laughed, "What happened to Max?"

"What do you mean what happened to me, I'm right here." Max said walking up from the side, just out of Logan's view; she had paused to talk to someone.

Logan's head turned and there was that smile, her smile, "Wow" he said taking in the newly shortened blonde locks, the almost non-existent cream eye shadow that just softened her eyes, the shimmery lip gloss. She was wearing an ash blue hoodie and dark jeans with sneakers.

"Good wow?"

"Oh yea good wow" Alec said across from Logan.

Max swallowed hard and realized she hadn't even noticed him there, he broke her and Logan's moment and she knew it was for the best. "I feel kinda foolish."

Logan shook his head, "No, it works. Original Cindy wanted to get you contacts, but I don't think you'll need them. No one should recognize you, especially considering they don't have a full shot of you."

Max nodded with an internal sigh thinking of how they lucked out. The news crews hadn't arrived when she pulled her hover drone stunt and she'd been mostly blocked out by OC and CeCe when they'd tried to get out. The one camera that had caught Logan fully during his stunt had luckily been manned by one of his informants, who had proved his loyalty to Eyes Only more than Logan had ever thought possible. He hadn't even hesitated, was never even asked to erase Logan's involvement, he'd just done it and thanked god they hadn't been live at that moment. Logan had been saved by a commercial break, sometimes you had to love this economy.

"Lo" a little voice from the floor called out, not appreciating losing his adoring public.

Logan turned immediately; "Haha, knew you had it in you." he picked up the baby from the floor and placed him on his lap.

"LoLo," the baby happy babbled; glad to have his attention back.

"We'd best be going, put all this work to the test." Max said needing desperately to get away.

Alec frowned, "Maybe you oughta take someone with you."

"Fool, what do I look like?" Cindy said cocking her head

The men both laughed, "Personally I'd be more scared getting on her bad side than any of the X-series." Logan smiled.

"Yea come to think of it, I think I'd rather face Mole in a dark alley."

"Okay" Max took Cindy's hand "Let's go before we have to put any of your skills to use." 


	7. No Escape

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**Chapter Seven **

_No Escape_

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"Hey Max, can you take Cale?" Alec said walking over to her, looking a little harried, carrying Cale in one arm and a stack of papers in another. 

Max looked down at the baby in Alec's arms "Where's Logan?"

"On his way home, I was supposed to drop the kid at the nursery. But I gotta run these over to Dix."

The next thing she knew Cale was being dropped in her arms, Max looked down at the toddler as Alec ran off, "Uh hey?" was her greeting to the little guy.

The baby looked up at her waiting to see what she'd do next.

She looked down doing the same. She examined his face, his cheeks had filled out and he'd startled babbling a lot, she could hear when she walked past him that those babblings had meanings, when this kid wanted something, he was pretty verbal in getting it. She looked into his eyes, those baby blues of his and thought of Logan's. You could never really tell what color his eyes were unless you were staring deep into them.

She sighed _Why am I thinking of _ _Logan__, it's not like this is actually his kid. _It was on that breath after her sigh that she realized Logan's scent lingered on the baby. She pulled him in closer and took a deeper breath. The contradiction of his warm, masculine smell being on this soft little baby. It made her miss him even more.

Everyday this little guy was growing closer and closer to Logan as she fell further away. She'd stayed away from him, from Cale for that very reason. She didn't know if she was jealous of the little guy or if she just knew she needed to keep her distance in order for them to move on.

Suddenly though, that choice had been taken away from her. "Guess I should do what Alec said and bring you to the nursery." she said speaking to the air and not risking looking at him again.

She shifted the baby onto her hip and started off to the nursery or maybe it should be called a maternity ward, she hadn't really figured that out yet. It was a group of rooms on the first floor of the main building, so the women wouldn't be isolated from the others or from work simply because they had a baby. Max hadn't been kidding when she said they weren't reacting that well to being mothers, having never been mothered themselves it was kinda difficult, especially since they had never asked for this. They weren't bad though, but they certainly liked having the support of those who would stop in throughout the day.

"Hey Max" Gem's voice called her out of her thoughts.

Max froze and turned to see the young X-5 with her daughter, Ronnie, named not only after Normal, but the man Normal told Gem was the greatest man who ever lived.

"Hey Gem" she plastered a fake smile on her face, her easy drop off was suddenly a lot harder.

"You haven't been by in awhile."

"Yea, I'm sorry. I've been really busy."

"Oh yea I know, must be pretty hard to keep this place stocked and the cops out."

Max sighed "That's a bit of an understatement. You guys have everything you need?"

Gem nodded, "Yea we're all set. Logan brings us stuff every time he comes. He's in love with that little guy." She dropped her head to gesture at Cale.

"Yea, he seems pretty attached."

"Even Alec's been helping out with him when Logan leaves, Zen and Vida have stopped by a few times too."

"Have you guys been having difficulty with Cale?" She asked unconsciously drawing the baby in closer.

"No, no" she shook her head "Not at all. You know it's just hard in the middle of the night when the babies start to cry and he wakes up…"

"Oh."

"I mean and I feel bad, I promised Dalton I'd move over by him, but I don't know about the other girls being alone with Cale. I mean…"

Max nodded "They're already having difficulty with their own kids."

"I was thinking maybe we should ask one of the trans-humans, Luna's actually pretty good with the babies."

"She's one of the cats right?" Max almost kicked herself for how she said that, but how else could she have said that?

Gem nodded, "So are you already bringing Cale in for the night?"

Max bit back a frown as she thought about the fact that she normally did see Cale being lugged around the main room or playing on the floor there as whoever was watching over him worked until at least 8, it was only 6 and all 4 of his normal caregivers were gone, since Vida and Zen had gone with Logan and wouldn't be back until he came in again tomorrow. Feeling guilty for trying to leave him with 3 already overworked mothers she shook her head, "No, just coming to grab some diapers and toys. Do I have to feed him again?"

"We normally give him a bottle right before he goes to bed. Around nine. I can give you one if you want to feed him before you bring him back." Gem replied totally unaware of the fact she had given Max such a guilt trip.

"Uh sure. I'll do my best."

Gem laughed, "He can drink his bottle himself Max, don't worry."


	8. How Did This Happen?

* * *

**Chapter Eight **

_How Did This Happen_

* * *

Max tried to ignore the fact that her stomach had twisted into a knot as she walked away from the nursery not only still with Cale, but with a blanket, a change of clothes, a few diapers, baby powder, a bottle, a little tub of cheerios, a pacifier, a teddy bear and the same pop up toy she had seen Logan and Alec playing with two days ago when she'd gone out with Original Cindy. One of the other girls had packed for Cale as Gem changed Ronnie's diaper, she apparently was more than pleased to keep another child out of the room, which kinda sickened Max even though she understood, she'd have probably been that girl just a few years ago.

"Okay Cale" she said bouncing him on her hip as she walked to her quarters on the opposite side of the building, "Looks like it's just you and me for now." she looked down at him, wondering why he'd been so quiet through all of this and saw him studying her intently. It reminded her of Logan, how he used to watch her and would have to be snapped out of it. She sighed as she looked back up and continued her walk, still trying to ignore his scent.

-o-o-o-

Max spread out the tan comforter Original Cindy had brought from their place so Cale could roam without getting cold from the floor before she put him down. She placed the bear and plastic toy in front of him, but he just glanced at them before he looked back up at her.

"Okay kid, you're starting to get a little freaky with the staring. Want me to play with you?" she gave him a confused, non-enthusiastic smile and shrugged of her shoulders.

Apparently all that babbling he'd been doing for the past two days wasn't going to be happening tonight.

"Probably because I'm yet another new person" she on a sigh as she sat down cross-legged in front of him.

He crawled the two feet over to her and lifted himself into her lap as she had seen him do with Logan.

Max looked down at the chubby cheeks staring up at her, "Look kid, I'm really not good at this."

He curled into her.

Max groaned, "Okay so how about a story. I only really know one, so you're gonna have to bear with me; it's kinda a chick story, "Once upon a time, there was a young mermaid named Serinetta…"

-o-o-o-

"Hey little fella, watcha doin?" Josh said poking his head in the doorway.

Max looked up from pressing the buttons with Cale, watching the cow pop up and go 'moo.' "Hey, we're just playing."

"Max's playing with Cale?"

Max nodded

"Thought you didn't like him." he said honestly as only Joshua would.

Max frowned, "Why would you say that?"

"You're the only one that doesn't talk to him in the day."

"I'm busy that's all."

"Everyone else is busy too. Logan especially."

"Yea well I'm taking care of him now aren't I?" Max snapped and immediately felt horrible. "I'm sorry Big Fella."

"No problem, isn't he fun?" He asked walking over and squatting in front of the baby.

Max laughed, she didn't know if fun would have been the word she would have used an hour ago when she'd changed his diaper or twenty minutes ago when Cale decided he wanted to explore her room and picked up everything in sight, when he was almost crushed several times by falling objects or as he tried to eat her new lip gloss. "He certainly keeps my reflexes in shape."

She laughed again as she watched Joshua push one of the buttons and had a cat pop up and meow, he faked surprise to match the baby's own. "Hey you wanna stay with him for a few, I've gotta warm up his bottle."

"Sure thing Max." he said moving on to the next button.

-o-o-o-

Max sighed softly into the pillow so as to not wake the baby and wondered how this had happened.

Cale had fallen asleep with the bottle's nipple still in his mouth as she fed him on the floor. She'd figured she'd just wait long enough to make sure he really was asleep for the night before she took him downstairs so she wouldn't bother them. So placing Cale down on her pillow (another amenity brought by Original Cindy) she folded her comforter back into a bed and grabbed another blanket. Then she picked him up again and settled him in next to her body as she pulled the blanket up over them.

Here she was two hours later with Cale still in her room; she wondered if any of the girls would even still be awake in the nursery. The smart move would to be to just bring him down there. She couldn't bear the thought of possibly waking him when he looked so peaceful though.

_Well, _she thought to herself, it's _not like I had anything better to do tonight. _She closed her eyes and waited for sleep, reassured in a way she'd never expected by the strength of his tiny breaths.


	9. Is the Impossible Really Possible?

* * *

**Chapter Nine **

_Is the Impossible Really Possible?_

* * *

Max Voiceover-

I dropped Cale off in the nursery around 4:30. I didn't want anyone to see me, I can't really explain why. I headed back upstairs to change out of the jeans I'd slept in and grab a sleeve of the Ring Dings I'd scored while shopping with OC the other day, one box for me and one for Joshua and I tried to ignored the lingering feelings of guilt from not sharing with our whole city, but it's not like that was really possible.

I hate these feelings of guilt that always seemed to accompany me, I don't know why I feel them, I mean I'm staying with them instead of traipsing across this continent to find that prick who put this virus in me in the first place.

Ugh I hate thinking of the virus; it's been what kept me up at nights for over a week, ever since we raised Joshua's flag. Last night with Cale tucked into my body I slept for four hours, making up for all the sleep I've been missing I guess. I thought of something this morning as I awoke with him still in my arms, it's not just that I don't want Logan to miss this. I don't want to miss it. I think all the visions I had in my head for me and Logan, they made me want more…

More what I'm still a little confused by, I mean a kid? Could I ever actually handle a kid? I mean Cale's pretty cool, Brittany got there too and the fact that Jace named her baby after me, probably the most amazing thing ever. But me a parent?

Then again provided I can somehow manage to take out White and avoid the authorities, I still have a lot of time to think about it.

I wonder if I could fall in love with someone besides Logan.

I can't imagine loving anyone with the intensity I love him, but I wonder if I'm mature enough now that I could stop pushing men away when they try to get close. I wonder if I could find a man that I wouldn't hate spending the rest of my life with…

It seems like such an impossible goal, after all I'd never even known what love actually was until I met Logan and now I'm trying to find someone to replace this once in a lifetime kinda love?

It happens though doesn't it?

Someone to make me just happy enough so I wouldn't miss Logan for the rest of my days?


	10. Good News?

* * *

**Chapter Ten **

_Good News?_

* * *

**Sandeman's House (about 3 weeks after the standoff):**

"Hey you want some good news Logan."

"Matt?" Logan said frowning into his phone, this wasn't Matt Sung's normal greeting.

"Yea it's me sorry. Listen apparently that team White brought in for the hostage situation, never been heard of before. White's entire agency is out looking for him, he's disappeared."

"You're just hearing about this now?" Logan asked in disbelief

"It takes awhile for things to trickle down to the Seattle PD, even if it did happen on our turf."

"So what does this mean about White's former employers?" Logan said sitting down at the desk.

"Rumor has it, they're running with their tail in between their legs. Washington still wants the transgenics under control, but the NSA is dealing with a lot of pissed off important people. I'm sure one of your DC sources can get you better info though."

"Yea that's good news though, White was uhhh." Logan looked for the words to explain the man who not only wanted hundreds of people dead, but the man who had killed his own wife.

"Yea man I know. I watched you jump up on a car. Speaking of which, how did you manage that?"

Logan laughed, "Turns out the exo can be pretty useful in times of crisis."

"Yea Max is lucky you were there."

He frowned, he didn't know what to say.

"Not that hard to put together you jumping in the line of fire for Max, heard the name when Clemente got back, knew it had to be your Max."

"You…"

Matt cut him off, "Don't worry Logan, your secret's safe."

"Well thanks for the good news Matt, I'll be sure to pass it along. Let me know if you hear anything else."

"Will do. Take care."

"You too Matt." Logan smiled into the phone as he hit end and started to mentally go through his lists of contacts who could get him more info.


	11. Eyes Only Is Back

* * *

**Chapter Eleven **

_Eyes Only Is Back_

* * *

**The Next Day:**

"Hey" Logan said walking over to Max carrying Cale who was preoccupied with his bottle.

She looked up at them and smiled "Hey"

"I've got some news that may or may not turn out to be pretty good"

Max's smile fell and she prepared herself for the worst, "Okay lay it on me."

"NSA is going after White, there's an investigation going on about what happened at Jam Pony, who the team was he brought in."

Max cocked her head, _how was that bad news?_

He looked at her and smiled, loving knowing what she was thinking, it made him still feel close to her, "This could be great. White on the lam, he can't come after you and the NSA without its pitbull."

Max nodded in awareness of what he had meant by may or may not be good, "Or we can have two different groups after us."

He sighed, "You never know Max, this could work in our favor. A new committee has been formed; looking into how to deal with transgenic community and oversee the NSA activities were this is concerned."

"So what now?"

He smiled slightly and shifted the baby a little, "I think Eyes Only is gonna have to go after White. Explain to citizens of Seattle what really happened."

Worry crept through her voice, " Logan do you really think that's such a good idea. I mean last time…"

"Last time White found me he had the NSA's tracking abilities, as of right now everything I've heard is that they've been sent back to Washington to regroup, everyone in White's team is being questioned in their activities."

Max shook her head, why was Logan doing this to her lately? Why did he keep putting himself at risk? "Just be careful."

A grin emerged, "That's supposed to be my line."

-o-o-o-

Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a Streaming Freedom Video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city. This man (picture of White appears on screen), Agent Ames White, who had been in charge of the NSA's investigation into the transgenic community is not the man he appeared to be. The NSA is tracking him now, for the unlawful events that occurred at the Jam Pony Standoff (video of the cops outside). An unauthorized sniper jeopardized the lives of those Jam Pony workers who were caught in the crossfire after a simple car accident turned into an incident because the occupants were transgenic. Ames White is a dangerous man; he killed his wife after she tried to find their son after he had him kidnapped. The transgenics are not the monsters they appear to be. This man is (picture of White across the screen again) is a monster, he does not care who he hurts. Be warned Ames White the people know the truth now, your time for judgment is coming. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out.


	12. Savior of the Free World or Idiot?

* * *

**Chapter Twelve **

_Savior of the Free World or Idiot?_

* * *

Max sighed as she walked away from the tv with Cale on her hip. She was proud of Logan honestly, she admired him…she also thought he was the biggest idiot on the face of the Earth. _Why was it _ _Logan__ felt it was his duty to save the world?_

"Why so glum Max? Thought you would have enjoyed that." Alec followed after her.

"He's going to get himself killed" she whispered under her breath.

Alec looked around there were too many people around to talk about this, "Let's go up to your room."

She nodded and led the way.

-o-o-o-

He shut the door as Max put Cale down on the already spread out blanket. Several toys were already in the room, if Logan had ever even noticed them missing from the nursery he had never said so.

"You're really worried about him aren't you?"

Max leaned up against a table and Alec, being male paused for a moment to admire her beauty, her form, so very noticeable in a light blue tank and darker blue fitted sweats. "He just keeps putting himself on the line. You would think after he got himself paralyzed he'd stop doing these things. You know the reason he isn't a normal journalist anymore? He got the heads up that there was a hit on his head, less than a week before it was supposed to go down."

Alec looked pretty impressed with that, "How the hell did he get out of that?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, the point is he went underground. You know he got himself throw off a building for me."

Alec laughed, "You're serious?"

"Yea I had to do a swan dive after him."

Alec laughed some more

"You know it's only funny now. Just like Logan taking out that sniper and fighting alongside us. This isn't his war Alec, I'm afraid he's going to get himself killed for us. I mean two weeks ago he jumped out of window. He does the supply runs, he finds the people to get us this stuff."

"He's got the experience Max, trust me; I know Logan has no desire to do this for any longer than he has to."

"Ugh" she groaned and sat on the floor, "I don't understand why Logan always feels it's up to him to save the world."

"Lo' " the baby cheerfully smiled

"Yea Cale, you're namesake not the smartest guy ever." she sighed as she pulled the baby into her arms

Alec laughed and sat down on the floor with them, picking up a stuffed cat Logan had brought for Cale.

Max sighed looking at it; _You ever notice how cats always seem to turn up around dinnertime? _"So why is it you only hang with the kid when Logan isn't around? You guys were all cozy a few weeks ago."

She glared, "Logan and I can't be cozy, did you forget that?"

"Certainly didn't stop you once we moved into this joint."

"Don't start Alec."

"Don't yell at me. I didn't start this lie between you two."

She snatched the toy from his hand and started to ignore him as she made it dance for Cale.

"So what is this some weird custodial agreement? Logan gets Cale in daytime hours and you at night?" He asked

"I just feel bad forcing Cale on the girls; they barely know what they're doing with their own kids."

"So it has nothing to do with the fact that Cale is as close to Logan as you can get?"

She glared at him in anger, partly because it was true, but she liked Cale for being Cale too, "Look it's just easier for Logan and I to not be bonded by anything else. We've got to start letting go of each other."

"So how are you accomplishing that by becoming Mommy to a kid that Logan basically thinks of as his own? You know he'd stay here at night if it weren't for the fact that this is a toxic waste dump he already shouldn't be in during the day and it's not safe to take Cale in and out of here every day."

She sighed, "I'm not that attached to Cale, I'm just doing this to help out." She pulled him in closer and hoped that was really true. She hoped that she really hadn't managed to fall in love with this little boy as she wasn't paying attention as she had done with Logan.


	13. Time Passes

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen **

_Time Passes_

* * *

**Max Voiceover (Top of Roof)-**

Time keeps passing here at Terminal City; the days seem to blend together. It's been just over a month since I moved in, sometimes it seems like only yesterday and other times I can't remember it being any other way.

Logan's done two other Eyes Only broadcasts in the passing weeks, one on the fact that White killed Annie; he had an interview from one of her friends who he relocated to Mexico afterwards. The friend told of Annie meeting Joshua and the fact they were friends, it was a very non-Eyes Only broadcast. The other was for once a non-transgenic broadcast and involved the water supply and the fact it wasn't being purified like it was supposed to be and people were getting sick.

Zen had gotten the information for that one. The blonde wanna-be surfer has replaced me as Logan's leg man, of course he doesn't really need a leg man the way he had originally needed me, well the way he needed me the second time he asked.

He's still fully vertical as if the shooting never happened. I sometimes wonder as I see him standing and swinging Cale in the air, if it's Cale that's making him so happy or everything he can do now.

He's so alive; he's even smiling when he walks in from the sewers. Nothing seems to get him down. He still groans and looks too serious working, he has to be snapped out of is train of thought, but when it's over the smile returns.

It's kinda nice; it's like really kinda nice.

I like seeing him so happy. I mean we all have tons of work and he's just there smiling. It makes absolutely no sense. Yet it's pretty damn wonderful. I like seeing Logan happy, even if I'm not the one to be making him happy.

I think of Cale, Logan's main source of happiness, he's asleep by Logan in his playpen. Logan's probably going to just end up spending the night here; they got in late bringing in a load of supplies. Logan actually figured out a secure entry point into the sewers and there are a whole group of people making sleds to carry the food back here for the next time they go out.

I don't really know what Logan's doing; I don't normally unless Alec is here for me to ask. I don't risk going over to him and asking myself; I keep my distance because it's easier this way. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

I think about him smiling once more...smiling, alive and happy...That makes sense, out of this whole crazy world I live in, that makes sense.


	14. Friendship

Chapter Fourteen

Friendship

* * *

Setting the Scene:

Okay it's two days later, this is the secure entry point I talked about in the last chapter, it's an enclosed property full of warehouses. The guards are SW1, which is how they have access to it…Max and Alec along with other transgenics have come to bring the supplies back to Terminal City.

Okay there's a slightly in the story character of Zen, which I talked about in the last chapter, just think suffer dude like I said in the last chapter. He's around Alec's height, blue eyes, blonde wavey hair, longer than Alec and Logan's. He's the X-5 Logan spends the most time with, he's in charge of keeping Logan safe. So he's wherever Logan is, he lives at Sandeman's house with Logan and accompanies him to and from TC.

-

"Jesus" Alec said in disbelief as they walked into the warehouse, "I don't believe this guy."

Logan was sitting on an abandoned desk as Cassia, a brunette X-5 with deep green eyes admired Logan's shirtless torso; Asha was placing a gauze pad on Logan's upper arm.

Max didn't even laugh at Alec's jealousy over Logan's ability to have females fawn over him, she was more worried about why Asha was applying a gauze pad to Logan's arm, "What happened?"

Logan laughed and turned, "Don't worry I'm fine."

"The boys were being boys." Asha said rolling her eyes, taping the pad on.

Zen came walking into the warehouse from the opposite door, "Logan had to go and land on the only piece of glass."

"I didn't land I was tackled onto that piece of glass thank you very much." Logan said defending his ego.

Cassia shook her head, "The entire place is littered with debris and these two decide they want to throw around the football."

"How'd you get tackled just throwing around the football?" Max questioned

"They got two of the guards involved, so it turned into a real game" Asha sighed stepping back from Logan, "You're all done."

He smiled, "Thanks." He slid back on the tan ribbed turtleneck, just barely wincing at the pain of moving his arm.

Max and Alec both shook their heads, though for very different reasons, Max followed hers with a sigh and said "Okay let's get these supplies moved."

-

Logan and Asha stayed back talking as the supplies were taken from the vans and lowered down to the waiting transhumans as Max had ordered them to do so.

"We're all done" Max said approaching Logan and Asha who were going over a file together.

"That was quick" Asha looked up in shock

"Designed for speed as well as beauty" Alec said approaching

Max shook her head, she was going to tape his mouth shut one of these days.

"I'm gonna go start the group off. I'll see you guys back at TC. You take care Asha." he said with a nod of his head and turned.

"I should…" Max began, wanting to make her own escape.

"Wait" Logan said standing. He turned to "Asha, you're good to take the van back on your own?"

She nodded "And Luis is going to take the other one when he gets off work" she said speaking of Logan's teammate from earlier that afternoon.

"Thanks for all your help" Max finally remembered her manners where the blonde was concerned.

"Not a problem like I told Logan earlier. I'm glad to help." She glanced from Logan to Max quickly, "I should be going. You guys have a good walk back."

"The sewers are lovely this time of year aren't they Max" Logan said with a smile.

She returned one in kind.

"I'll talk to you later and I'll get that information for you." Logan said

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "Bye"

"Bye" they both replied

They watched as Asha pulled the van out of the warehouse. Max turned to Logan once she knew they were alone again. "Why'd you want me to wait?"

"When was the last time we spent any time together?"

"You mean not work related?"

He nodded

She knew exactly when, it had been over a month ago, "It's been a while."

"Walk back with me, catch me up with what's going on?" He said with a smile as he slung his bag across his back.

"You just wanted to get out of helping to pull a sleigh didn't you?" she teased

He laughed, "Luckily the menial labor I get to avoid because I'm an ordinary, I was trying to save you from it though. They should already be a decent ways down. So what do you say? Walk with me?" he extended a gloved hand.

She nodded and took his hand with her own gloved hand.

-

They walked in silence for awhile, both of them just enjoying the other's company, the noise of those ahead of them just barely audible.

"So how are they doing?" she broke the silence and glanced down at his legs.

He smiled, "I'm still vertical. Just trying to enjoy them while I have them."

She smiled "Try to freeze off your toes again in the water?"

He smiled and looked like he was going to stop for a moment, but then shook his head, "You know I told Bling the easiest way to ruin a friendship was to try to make it something more."

She turned and looked at him confused.

He laughed, "That day, before you had to go save Zack?"

She nodded and dropped her head, "I told Original Cindy the same thing." she gave a small laugh, "As I was shaving my legs." The memory was almost comical now, when she didn't think too hard about it that is.

He shook his head, he knew what that meant, "You mean those twenty minutes I spent trying to fix the front of my hair perfect actually had a point."

She turned and laughed, "You actually adjust that mop and not just run gel through it."

He joined in her laughter, they had both been so silly, "Hey it's not always gel, sometimes it's a pomade or a wax, we don't really have gel weather, but no normally I don't."

"I thought you were going to kiss me when we were on the beach." her voice grew soft as she remembered

He let out a slow, slightly pained laugh, "I was trying to remember how to breathe as I looked at you. Tried to remember we were just friends."

"We should have skipped listening to everyone. We probably could have avoided all that drama this year."

"Either that or listened to them earlier. At least it's only taken us 8 months this time to figure things out."

She stopped, came to a dead halt in the darkened sewer, he turned to look at her, "What have we figured out Logan?" she asked.

"We're friends, above and beyond anything else we're friends and that matters more than jealousy or anger." He paused for a moment and just looked her, "I want you to be happy."

"I want the same for you."

He smiled, "I know"

-

"Okay this kid's fussy and I don't know why" Alec said walking over to them the moment they walked through the doors to the main room. He dropped the baby down into Logan's arms and walked away, his patience had already been tried by seeing every female in a 3 mile radius gushing over Logan, then walking back with people who made Joshua seem like he had good hygiene and manners.

"Lo" the baby said crying into his shirt.

"Oh" he said rubbing the baby's back, "Hey we're sorry…Did we all leave you alone?" He bounced the baby in his arms trying to soothe him, it wasn't working. He shifted the baby outward so he could see Max, "Look, look we're all here, we didn't leave you."

"Mac" the baby cried, but remained attached to Logan's shirt.

Max tried to hide her shock, "Hey little guy," she said rubbing his back, "it's okay, we're here."

Logan laughed slightly at her, had she really thought he hadn't known she spent as much time with Cale as he did? "Your scent lingers and he says your name" he said the two most obvious things with a nod.

Max couldn't help but laugh, _how was she running a city?_

* * *

Author's Note: 

Okay since this story seems to be the least liked (as in it appears to being only read by one person for more than a few chapters), I'm just gonna put it at a lower posting frequency than the other stories. It will still be finished, this story actually has an outline, so I can't ever forget where I was going with it, as I have done with other stories.

If you're reading this and you're not okay with it being posted on a much less regular and frequent basis then please reply and I'm sorry Babyangel, my one reader, but I promise you I will finish this story.


	15. A Baby's Cry

Okay so can we make it so that I don't have to threaten again? Reviewing for chapter one and then never reviewing again makes me think you've stopped reading…I'm not kidding here…Reviews from all but one stopped at like chapter 3. The more frequently you want a story updated, the more frequently you need to review for it, especially since I'm all out of fully prewritten in the proper order chapters.

Speaking of which, I'm not too sure if this chapter flows from the last one, I added on the end of the last chapter because I wanted everyone to know that Logan wasn't a retard, he got that Max took care of Cale while he wasn't around…Though Logan isn't aware of just how involved Max is becoming in Cale's life, he also doesn't know why she's been keeping her distance from Cale while he's around…He thinks it's part Max acting like tough girl, not really wanting to admitting to liking kids, part just keeping her distance like before because of her relationship with Alec and part just being busy. I'm telling you that because I can't figure out a way I like of how I'd incorporate that into the story because Logan isn't having a voiceover for a few more chapters and there's a reason for that and Alec wouldn't be Logan's confidant in this area. Also remember as you go into this story that nothing has changed in Max trying to lie to herself and others about how much she likes Cale.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_A Baby's Cry_

* * *

A week later:

Mole was talking, but Max was having some issues focusing. She could hear the babies crying, she could almost swear she heard Cale's cry, but that was ridiculous, there was a chorus of tears, it was doubtful she was really hearing his. Yet it didn't make it any easier to focus on what Mole was saying, she was just counting….30 seconds….60 seconds…._If he makes it to 5 minutes then I'll go _she said to herself….90 seconds…..2 minutes. "I'll be right back." she said hopping off the table she'd been sitting on and rushing to the nursery as fast as she could without running.

He was sitting on the floor, his face bright red and tears streaming down his face, "Oh baby it's okay," she said rushing over to him and scooping him off the floor.

"Mac" he cried and grabbed at her shirt.

She saw Logan and Alec standing by the other door, Logan was being held back by Alec. "What kind of heartless bastards are you? You're just letting him sit here and cry."

Alec sighed and let his hands fall, "The kid has you guys whipped. You've got to let the kid cry. You're training him to cry every time he wants something." He saw no give in her eyes, "I give up." he threw his hands up in the air and walked out of the room.

Logan let out a soft laugh as a grin spread to his face, he shook his head, slightly embarrassed and very amused with the scene that had just unfolded. "I have a meeting and Cale started to cry as I was walking out the door. Alec was holding me back." He walked over to her, where she was still bouncing trying to soothe Cale.

He looked down at his watch, "I'm gonna be late" he kissed the top of the baby's head and then over the top of the baby's head his eyes connected with hers "Happy anniversary Max."

Awareness of the date suddenly hit her, how had she missed it creeping up, "Happy anniversary Logan." she whispered.


	16. Second Anniversary

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Second Anniversary_

* * *

Max Voiceover (On the roof looking out onto the night)-

Two years ago today I met Logan Cale. Ultimate defender of the downtrodden….He's really earned that title this year. He's given up everything to help us.

Alec made a comment to me a few weeks back about Logan doing all of this because of me…Sometime it just shows how little everyone else knows about him…Logan would have been here regardless of me….Maybe not as fully involved, but that's only because he wouldn't have been given the same access to us. It's funny how the thing that always annoys me the most about him is also the thing I love the most.

I always hated being put second to Eyes Only, I hated how he wasn't living his life as fully as he should have been (then again part of that might have been the wheelchair) and I still hate how he puts his life on the line, especially when it's for me.

God I love him so much for that though. I love him for not even hesitating before jumping up on that car to take out the sniper. I love him for still loving me and protecting me even though he thinks I've betrayed him in the cruelest way. I love the fact that he risked his life to save a young baby…He saved Cale from being someone's science project.

I love how he barely makes a face, when Joshua's up in his talking….I love that he actually ate Mac and Cheese with Hot Dogs.

(Max laughs)

I really love that. Logan Cale, Mr. Ultra Uppity Gourmet was there waving around the hot dog he speared on his fork.

I love how friendly he still is to Alec, how he works side by side with him with no problem…_I love how he just wants me to be happy._

I love how he's the most un-ordinary ordinary there is.

I wish I didn't have to think back to a year ago this time…Why did I go out on that ride? Why didn't I go to him? Why'd I always try to hide who I was from him? He always accepted me, without a second thought he accepted me.

I wish I hadn't been so stupid that night. I wish I had gone to him…Told him what was going on…Spent our anniversary together…

(Tears well up in her eyes)

Even if it was just Logan trying to avoid me all evening….I can just see myself pouncing on him and him trying to fight back what he was feeling because he's that kind of guy. We would have been there together though_, I wouldn't have betrayed him…_

In two days it'll be our anniversary for when I left him….For when I died in arms…

Regret and love were the only two things with me as he held me in his arms, I didn't care about the pain…

Regret that I was leaving him, regret that we'd wasted so much time, regret that he didn't know how much he meant to me….

God though I loved him so much in that moment…All the fighting I did inside myself for that year slipped away, _the moment her bullet came at me…_I knew I loved him more than anything…I finally understood it was that I was feeling, I finally accepted it instead of fighting it.

I wish it was easier sometimes…That I didn't love him so deeply…That I didn't think about how easy it would be to just lean into his lips….I don't trust myself around him…I'm so afraid that one day I'll forget and…

(Max shakes her head)

Why do I keep doing this to myself? I know I can't change the past and I can't do anything to give us a future. _Friends_. That's what Logan had said to me only days ago. Beyond everything else, we're friends. We're always going to be friends. We can't walk away. As much as it hurts to not be together, it'll always hurt a hell of a lot more to not be in each other's lives.

Maybe it's just that I wish I could forgive myself…Who knows maybe one day I will…


	17. Denial

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**Chapter Seventeen**

_Denial_

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A few days later:

"Hey Mommy" Alec said knocking on her door, "You decent?" he didn't wait for an answer he just opened the door. "The little guy's ready for bed." he said rubbing Cale's back.

"Alec don't call me his mom" she shook her head as she reached out to take the baby.

Alec shook his head, "Would you prefer nocturnal needs provider?" He moved over to her lone chair, "You're a mom Max, you need to just accept it."

She shook her head as she lowered Cale onto the waiting mattress Logan had brought over with Zen and Vida weeks ago and covered him with a blanket, "I'm just helping out."

"Max this stopped being helping out a long time ago." He frowned watching her brush down Cale's hair. He worried she was heading for another heartbreak, he hadn't understood why she'd allowed herself to become so attached to Cale while swearing she wanted to stay away from Logan.

Then again, he thought as she smiled as a mostly sleeping Cale grasped at her finger, maybe he did understand.

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Wow that was a budget chapter…I swear the next is more than just a few lines. 


	18. Russian Roulette

Okay this story's choppy and I'm not too sure why or how to fix it….So I'm sorry and I hope you're filling in the blanks well.

Logan has a voiceover in the next chapter, I think I might give Alec one as well soon to sum up as an outsider watching what's going on. I hope those will help. Okay here's the chapter, I hope you enjoy.

Oh and hey there were no threats in the last chapter and it was only budget bc I wanted something to set up this chapter.

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**Chapter 18**

_Russian Roulette_

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A Week Later

"Hey hey I know, you're sad Daddy'll be right back…Hey how about we go to Mommy huh?" Alec said to the slightly fussy Cale that had just been placed in his arms by Logan, who was leaving the room despite Cale's wishes.

Max frowned as she took Cale from Alec's arms, "Alec stop living up to your name, don't confuse him."

She realized Logan had stopped walking away, he turned and faced them, "You were never dating were you." he said out of the blue.

She had no lie prepared, she was caught too off guard, her mouth dropped, "Uh" she began and tried to search her mind for something to say.

Alec was no better and remained silent.

Logan gave a stunned laugh and shook his head, he couldn't believe what an idiot he had been.

"You're not mad?" A confused Alec asked, awaiting the fallout from the lie.

Logan just continued to look at Max with a shocked and amazed smile on his face.

His gaze unnerved her, "Hey Alec can you take Cale and go get those specs from Finn?"

"Uh yea sure," Alec felt slightly bad about leaving Max alone to face Logan's wrath, which he was pretty sure was coming once the shock wore off, but then again this had been her lie, "Come here bud." he took the baby.

Max didn't speak until Alec was gone, "I just wanted to keep you safe" she said softly.

"I know. I'm sorry I made you have to do that." he was still in shock, it showed in his low voice.

"You're not mad?" Her eyes widened as she asked him

He shook his head and ruefully grinned, "You did what you needed to do to keep me safe. I wouldn't have let go Max." he admitted honestly.

Max sat down in shock, part of her saddened by how well he took this, where was the anger, the feelings of betrayal, the hatred, _where was the love? _"When I thought you were going to die Logan…When I realized you'd grabbed my arm, when you were lying on the floor, when Beverly was checking you out. It was this weird slow down, it was like it was happening to someone else, all at the same time of it being so intense and my mind was trying to get a grip of what the world would be like without you…" There weren't tears in her eyes, she was in too much shock, but the pain of reliving that night was evident, _the impossibility of the world going on without Logan in it._

He sat down in front of her and took her hands, "I know, I've been there before."

"You know dying was a lot easier than watching as you were dying."

He nodded, "I know" he said roughly.

"When I finally realized what you were talking about in your apartment, it all became so clear." her voice was so small and there was a tiny catch as she continued, "I had to make you stay away."

"You did the right thing Max." he reassured her as his eyes glistened, "We just had to get over the hump right? Had to get used to living without each other and I wouldn't let go." he smiled softly.

"This is surreal." She'd always known the day would come when he would find out, but it hadn't been anything like this. He hadn't been kind or caring or compassionate in a single one of her nightmares about what this day would be like. Then again when did anything between them go as she expected?

He laughed, "It is isn't it." His face took on a more somber look, "I'm sorry I forced you to do that. It's a lot easier to play Russian Roulette with your own life than it is with someone else's."

She weakly laughed, "You should know. Are you're really not mad?"

He shook his head, "Not mad, kinda sad though."

"Why?"

He touched her cheek briefly and smiled, "I wish you really had moved on."

Max made a face, "You wish I moved on with Alec?"

"Alec isn't such a bad guy."

"Logan, you made me want to pull my hair out…Alec…." she searched for the right words to describe Alec.

"What about Alec?" he asked

"I wanna knee him in the groin."

"Too cocky?" he offered

"Just a tad." she finally allowed herself to really smile.

"I'm really not mad Max" he repeated, knowing she didn't fully believe him.

"You should be, I lied."

He smiled, "Like we've never lied to each other before. You know" he began and squeezed her hands again, "I wouldn't wish losing the person you love on anyone, not even White." He thought about that for a moment, "Okay maybe White. I didn't think I would ever get over losing you." He smiled as he realized he didn't, "I probably never would have and I almost did that to you. I really did convince myself it was my choice, my decision to make, but I didn't think about what would happen to you afterwards. I can't imagine being the reason you hurt like I did." He knew now she would have hurt like he had, he didn't doubt it at all. She had never said the words, but he knew.

She gave a watery smile, "I was the reason you hurt like that."

He laughed, he wasn't going to let her be sad, they'd had enough sadness to last several lifetimes, "Yea and now you've been there 3 times with me? Trust me though, thinking that someone is going to die, is nothing compared to them really being gone. So you need to remember that and not laugh all those times I say be careful."

She laughed for real finally, "You got it."

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Okay well that's as close as I can give you for a happy little V-day chapter for this story. I hope you all are having a good day. 


	19. I Would Have Been Mad Once

**Chapter 19**

_I Would Have Been Mad Once_

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**Logan Voiceover** (sitting on a rooftop looking over at Foggle Towers)-

I would have been mad once.

I would have been furious with her for lying to me.

I would have shut down and blamed myself.

It's more than what I told her. It's more than playing Russian Roulette with the life of the one you love. I was standing there with my stomach in knots, trying to ignore the feeling as I waited for them to walk out of Jam Pony. Then the shots were fired and I reacted on instinct, without thought. Her life was on the line and for once it was in my power to save her or at least die trying.

I had this moment watching the flag when I finally realized what happened, when I finally allowed it all to hit me. I had almost lost her twice in less than a year. Max had almost died before my eyes again and there wouldn't have been a resurrection this time.

I was holding on so tight to her in these past few months, not physically, but mentally. Even when I was pushing her away and keeping my distance, she was never out of my thoughts for a second.

There was this weight that lifted off of me as I held her hand watching the flag. A sense of peace as I realized she was still with me.

She was not only in the world, _she was in my world_, even after everything that happened.

It was odd to realize in that moment that we'd really only had a year together, still less than two even if I counted the six months she haunted my thoughts. She'd become my world, who am I kidding she still is my world. I still wouldn't be able to survive in a world without her.

The point is she's still in the world. _This time I'd been able to save her. _I wasn't sitting helpless in a van…

Max would probably say it's some macho male thing, needing to be the hero, the knight in shining armor. I don't care about that though, I don't care how she comes out of a bad situation, _I just care that she does. _

Holding her hand as that flagged waved….Knowing that I wasn't losing her again…It's funny actually…It made me realize I could let go…I could let go and she'd still be there. I wasn't losing her as I had feared since she came back….She wasn't going anywhere….


	20. Downtime

The Setup:

It's a week later and the mood has improved dramatically, tensions that hadn't been fully visible are totally gone. Max doesn't go out of her way to avoid Logan, she had already been doing less of that since she found out Logan knew she spent time with Cale which is how he quickly uncovered her lie about her and Alec.

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**Chapter 20**

_Downtime_

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There was a new baby in the nursery, Caden, he'd been born at 0200 today to Ren, a girl around Max's own age, dark hair and eyes. There was one thing that made Caden special, he was the only one of their now six newborns in Terminal City with a father. Hudson, who worked in keeping water running in this city had been Ren's breeding partner, he'd actually found her at Manticore before going to escape himself. There was no doubt it made the other girls in the nursery envious, he adored her and their son. Only one of the other girls had contact with her breeding partner and he'd just gone about his merry way and said sorry.

Max was sitting on the floor playing with Cale as she watched them coo over the baby taking some time out of the day to just veg after she'd gone in with Cale to change his diaper.

"Hey Maxie, hey Cale" Alec said sitting down and ruffling Cale's still almost non-existent locks.

"Hiding out?" she asked to explain his presence in the nursery.

"Yea Mole's been trying to talk me into breaking into this cigar aficionado's club, scoring him some real stogies."

Max laughed, "Remind me to talk to him and explain to him we're trying not to piss off anymore of the natives."

"Yea good luck with that. So that's the new baby?"

"Yea Caden." Max turned and saw Alec's almost wistful expression, "You okay?"

He snapped out of it, "Uh yea fine."

She laughed, "Alec are you having some paternal longings?"

"Of course not" his eyes swayed over to hers and that easy grin of his returned, "You know, it could have been us doing that."

Max tried to refrain from making vomit sounds, but was finding it hard not to choke. She ended up coughing loudly. She heard laughter and turned.

Gem was standing over them with the baby, "You guys were breeding partners?" the laughter still crept out of her voice.

"Why is that so funny?" Alec was outraged

Max laughed

"Just the thought of you and Max." Gem shrugged her shoulders.

"Me and Max" he said in a huff, "Max would be lucky to have had me."

"I really would have shot you though Alec." Logan had overheard their conversation and finally decided to join in.

"You couldn't even keep the gun up, let alone pull the trigger."

"I would have found the strength," Logan laughed as he sat down with them, "Hey buddy" he said ruffling Cale's hair.

"Don't worry if I'd ever actually been forced to sleep with him, I would have let his head explode."Max smiled

"I'm missing something aren't I?" Gem said shifting the baby in her arms.

Max grimaced, "Let's just say that the siege has actually been a pretty calm point in this year for us."

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I want to point out I made Cale the only age of a child that I've ever actually spent time with and I've made him nothing like that…He's the quietest and most well behaved child ever, I'm sure I'll eventually rectify that…For now just assume that while the kid has attention and toys to play with he doesn't need to be talking because he doesn't need anything or maybe X-series are genetically well behaved, he has been a terror, just off screen. Okay I just wanted to point out that I knew that flaw. 


	21. Hey

Okay answering a question for X52-599 the rest of you can go along to the story. I don't know if Zack will be in this story or not, I've thought about it a few times and I haven't decided anything about that yet. I was actually going to make Cale into a mini-Zack, but then I decided that was just a little too much. And yea that whole barcode thing, I don't think Max and Logan really expected the whole world to find out that soon about transgenics, I mean hey a barcode tattoo when you already don't remember can easily be said to be something you did while you were drunk (removing it only lasts for a couple of weeks). I think he had all of his strength back, besides from his arm and that should have been healed within a few months I believe they said. Thanks for reading, I look forward to your story and welcome to Dark Angel, doesn't it just pull ya in? I was seriously depressed when the end credits rolled on Freak Nation, I wasn't ready for them to go yet, I'm guessing you weren't either.

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**Chapter 21**

_Hey…_

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"Hey Max can you give these to Logan?" Alec said as he extended his hand which contained a clipboard full of papers. 

She glared, _what the hell! Did this guy think she was his secretary? _

He gave her the patented cocky Alec grin, "Pretty please?"

She shook her head and sighed as she took the board from him and made a face at Cale who was playing on the floor who giggled as she started walking towards the office that Alec and Logan had originally used as a bedroom at the start of the siege.

He looked up and over as the door opened, his deep attention to the numerous papers scattered in front of him broken.

She admired him sitting there in the swivel chair that no longer rolled, but was actually propped up by a few paperbacks where a wheel was missing. He was wearing a fitted navy blue tee shirt and jeans and his hair almost completely free of product, he'd kept on keeping it cut short and his face scruff-less for once. She'd never met anyone who looked so good in just a pair of jeans, Logan was always the hottest to her when he was trying the least.

"Hey" she smiled

"Hey yourself" he smiled back, "Please don't tell me you're bringing me more work." his eyes dropped down to the clipboard.

"I have no idea what is it I'm bringing you…Alec's playing Normal today." she walked over and dropped the board down on the table before leaning up against it, just far enough away from Logan with his bare arms and hands…A rarity for either of them these days.

He looked down at the papers in front of him and then up at her, "I've missed you hovering over me as I work." he said with a teasing grin.

"I don't hover."

He raised an eyebrow looking at her. He laughed as he stood "The good news is now I can hover." he stood over her.

"Logan" she whispered, she'd missed him being this near, "You shouldn't be this close, you've got too much skin showing."

"Are you worried I'm suddenly going to lose my balance and fall?" he teased and pretended to fall towards her. She tensed up, there was no where for her to go, she was trapped in between him and the desk.

"Logan stop"

"Why?"

"Because it's not safe." she was saying the words even though she knew she didn't want him to go anywhere…_Just to be close to him…_

"What if I told you it was, would you want me to move then?" his eyes grew serious as they gazed down into hers.

She swallowed deeply, "What are you saying Logan?"

He didn't bother with words, he leaned in closer, cupped the back of her head and brought their lips together.

When he finally ended the kiss she looked up still completely baffled.

"Did you really doubt me? Did you really think I wouldn't find a cure Max? Did you give up on us Max?" he asked with his hand on the side of her face.

"If I'd really given up on us, I would have left along with Sam." She stayed because she couldn't leave him, she'd tried so many times, but in the end, she'd risk anything just to stay. He outweighed every other obligation she had, the most important member of her family by far.

"I love you so much Max." he said looking down at her.

"I love you too" she whispered, "I love you so much Logan. I won't fuck this up again…I swear."

He smiled and bent his head down, she lifted up to reach his lips. _No more waiting, _she thought, _no more waiting ever…_

He groaned as she deepened the kiss and her hands started to trail over his body. It was leaner than it had ever been, muscles even more defined by months of no excess and hard work. He pulled her closer, causing her to stand instead of lean on the desk as his hands found their way in under her shirt and rested on her waist. "I thought you were against the idea of a quickie." he smiled as he felt her fingers on his belt.

"We have the rest of our life to take it slow." she said looking up as she undid his belt.

He looked down and smiled, but he didn't say anything, he kissed her again deeply as his hands trailed further up her body.

"How about I help you with that?" she said breaking away and taking off her shirt in a single fluid motion.

His eyes darkened as he admired her.

She almost laughed, this was never how she expected to be with Logan. Standing before him with short blonde hair, in a pink bra and jeans, ready to make love with him on the floor of an office in a Toxic City and not in his plush spacious bed as she had dreamed of so many times.

"God you're beautiful" he said pulling her back.

Her hands slipped in under his shirt as he made love to her neck in a way she hadn't imagined possible, was it that all other guys were just clueless or was it they weren't Logan? His lips started trailing down her body and her hands moved to his hair, lips trailed down over her bra, then down her stomach, he smiled as he reached the waistband of her jeans. She smiled as he looked up and grinned. He undid the button, then slid down the fly before rejoining her fully standing. He kissed her again.

She laughed and toppled him to the floor. A phone started to ring as she was sitting on top of him looking down at his laughing face. She looked around, _where was that coming from?_

Her eyes opened and took in her quarters and Cale sleeping a few inches away from her. She felt her skin slightly damp, it felt like she'd been sleeping under a heat lamp. _Heat, _she realized…It had only been a dream…No cure…_No Logan…_

The phone rang again and she looked around the room trying to find the noise, she'd been too distracted to fully hear. She grabbed it and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Max"

"Logan?"

"Yea, I didn't wake you did I? It's almost 7."

Max was still in a state of confusion, she barely even wondered why she'd slept so long. "What's up?" she asked automatically

"Just thought you might want to know, the national guard is being pulled back from the gates."

"Are you serious?"

"Yea just got a call from my guy in Washington, they finally decided this morning. They're going to be asking for a sit-down soon to try to work out some sort of agreement."

"Uh, that's great"

"Max, you don't seem as excited by this as I thought you'd be."

"It's just early. Not really awake yet."

He laughed, "I'll let you go then. I just wanted to share the news."

"Thanks."

She hit end on her cell and let her hand fall limply in front of her and for the first time ever Max cried while in heat and not afterward. Slow and silent tears. Until finally her body started to shake and her breaths became small gasps for air. She pulled her legs up to her body and buried her face in her knees. _It was just a dream…He was never going to be hers again. _That almost sense of peace that had come when she realized months ago that there would be no cure disappeared and the blinding pain of realizing she had to live her life without having him fully returned.


	22. Overexerted

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Chapter 22

_Overexerted _

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She dropped Cale off at the nursery, she didn't want to risk Logan going up to her room looking for him. She checked in with everyone, pushing aside the beginnings of heat and tried to focus. Luckily everyone had everything under control. "I'm feeling a little punk" were her words to Alec, "Can you deal with everything today? I'm gonna go up to my room."

"You okay? You're never sick." None of them ever were, hung-over sick yes, illness sick no.

"I didn't sleep well last night." She laughed inside, she'd slept amazing actually, it was just the waking up that sucked.

"You serious? Max, I've never seen you so conked out."

She raised her eyebrows.

"I knocked on your door at like 2, when I opened it you were sound asleep."

She put aside the uneasy feeling she got when knowing she was so defenseless, that was unlike her, that was unlike her even when she wasn't at the top of her game. "What did you want?"

"I was just bored."

She fought a battle inside of herself to not react to those words…She could do plenty to make him un-bored. "I'm gonna go now" she said abruptly and turned.

He was just left staring after her looking confused.

-

"Hey Max" he said knocking on the door as he opened it, it was almost 2 and Max hadn't come down again since that morning.

"Alec" she said jumping up from the floor where she'd been doing crunches.

"Guess you're feeling better" he walked into the room.

She swallowed deeply and tried to put out of her mind just how much better she could be feeling, she nodded instead of trying to speak.

"You look a little flushed." he said with concern, "Maybe you shouldn't be working out."

"I'm fine" she said shaking her head, "I just overdid it."

His eyebrows narrowed, _she overdid it? _"Maxie, you sure you're okay?" He asked walking over to her and put his hand on her forehead. He frowned, she was clammy, he got that much, he then placed his hand over his own forehead to try to gauge a difference in temperatures. "Maybe you feel a little hot?"

Her mouth dropped open, he had no idea how hot she felt. _Why was he standing just inches away from her? _"You have no idea"

"Maxie, you sure you're okay?"

"I could be a lot better" she said in a sultry voice.

He looked at her puzzled.

A grin tugged at the corners of her lips, "Can you help me feel better Alec?"

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Hmm yes that is where the chapter is ending. Oh and Babyangel have you ever experienced a cat in heat? Most fuckin single minded things ever (happened once with my cat, I almost shot her) so no amount of maternal instinct would override that, sorry. 

Okay and 599, there's a virtual third season at , (I believe that's the proper site) you might wanna check out (It does have Zack). I don't know if I'll have Zack in my story, if I do he's not a love interest for Max, I'm a firm believer in that Max doesn't see Zack like Zack sees her. As for any training for the kids, I'm not training Cale or any of the other kids, they're gonna be raised like Case, I don't know what other stories have done.

Okay so that's it, thanks for reading.


	23. Make Me Feel Better

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**Chapter 23**

_Make Me Feel Better_

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_Heat._ The single word hit him as Max flattened her body against his. For years in Manticore it had only been a rumor passed along by the guards, one of the X-5 females had stopped taking her pills and…Well the point was the females were strictly monitored after that. He'd really thought it was a lie though until they began their breeding program. Those breeding were taken off the pills that suppressed heat, they'd been isolated from everyone else besides from their partners, but the stories he'd heard from the guards had been something else. There were even a bunch of freshly pregnant females here unable to control themselves when heat had hit in the outside world. "Make me feel better Alec" she said wantonly as she ran a finger along his jawbone.

"Uh…Trust me Max, I wish I could but I can't."

He gasped as she cupped him, "Oh I think you can."

He tried to stay focus, "No…No Max," he said backing away from her very slowly, "I'm a big fan of being alive and you'd kill me tomorrow."

"Alec" she smiled, "I swear, if you live through tonight, I won't kill you tomorrow." She started walking towards him again.

There was something about Max in this state that made it hard for him to say no, hard for him to be in control like he was used to; his brain was having a hard time trying to regain control of his body.

"Alec" she whispered before claiming his lips…Sweetly at first, almost as if she knew he'd bolt from the room…Sweet and tempting so he barely noticed their mouths slowly opening, deepening the kiss.

"Mmmm Max"

There was a small teasing laugh from her and he felt her hands disappear under his shirt, feeling his abs, his waist. She kissed him again and the next thing he knew he was looking up at her straddling him on her mattress.

"Fuck me" he cursed at himself, coming back to his senses and flipped her off of him leaving her looking up at him stunned as he stood over her.

Anger and desire returned to her eyes, "I was trying to."

He shook it off, "Look Maxie, you'd hate me and yourself tomorrow."

"No I wouldn't" she promise standing, looking at him in such a way that he had to focus his attention on her table.

"Yes you would, I know you." He garnered his strength and looked at her again, "You're one of my best friends Max and so is Logan."

The word Logan seemed to hit her and she froze, the desire in her eyes weakening. "Logan and I are over." Her voice dead.

"Max we don't know that for sure…" he was about to go on with the same speech everyone gave.

"Over nine months" she shook her head, "I've got to move on." She looked up at him, her hunger returned, "You could help me move on, you could really be my friend and help me. Don't you want to help me Alec?" she said walking over to him.

He felt like a bastard as he said the one word he knew would stop her again, " Logan"

It worked, she froze, "Why do you keep saying his name?"

"Because he's downstairs right now. Do you really wanna fuck me with him in the building?"

There was a weakness and anger in her eyes he'd never really seen before, "Well seeing as how he'd…" She shook her head, the memory of Logan lying on the floor of Crash returned, "…Before I'd even get his clothes off." she sat down at the edge of the mattress.

"Max" he said softly and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I miss him so bad today." she admitted, the anger gone from her eyes, all that remained was pain and weakness.

"Oh Max" he said looking down at her, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Wanting to physically comfort her, but knowing it wasn't smart.

Max's entire body shook. This wasn't supposed to happen; this wasn't supposed to happen during heat. Heat was about sex, it wasn't about feelings, it was the biological need to procreate. Yet here she was with Alec inches away and she was crying about Logan. This was her third time in heat since being out of Manticore, the first happening soon after her escape. She'd stayed in the apartment both previous times, the thought of Logan overpowering even her heat. She'd never even imagined love could be so powerful…_It just wasn't powerful to overcome a deadly targeted to his DNA virus._

"I just want him back Alec. I never even had him, but I want him back."

"I'm sorry" he said squatting down in front of her.

She returned his sympathy filled gaze for awhile with her own pain stricken one, it started to change though, his scent overpowering her thoughts. He saw it return, he saw the devouring look she was giving him. He jumped to his feet, "I need reinforcements. Don't leave this room." he ordered as he opened the door and hoped she'd listen.


	24. A Worrisome Thought

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**Chapter Twenty-Four**

_A Worrisome Thought_

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Alec ran into Logan walking down the hallway carrying Cale, worry etched into his eyes. "Dix told me Max wasn't feeling good." 

"Ugh," Alec ran a hand through his hair, "yea but it don't go in there, it's the kinda not good that you'll end up dead from."

It took Logan a moment to register what Alec was talking about, "Heat?" He thought for a moment about her on the phone earlier, she'd been acting strange, but he'd have never guessed heat.

Alec nodded, "I'm gonna go get Gem or anyone female I can find to stay with her."

"Yea you do that." Logan said absent mindedly. Alec had started walking down the hall again, when Logan turned and called out after him, "Hold on."

"Yea?"

"Manticore didn't have anything to take the edge off?" he asked

"They had something, I don't know what though."

"You don't know anything about it?"

Alec searched his mind for a moment, trying to think back to the guards all those years ago, "I think they simulated a pregnancy or something."

Logan nodded, "That makes sense, no need to go into heat if you're already pregnant. Thanks Alec."

"You got an idea Logan?"

"I might."

"Shit." Alec a few steps into his walk turned.

"What?" Logan didn't like the look on his face.

"Women, they normally cycle together."

Logan shook his head, "It's too early for that." _Oh dear god he hoped he was right._

_

* * *

_

"Hey" he said brushing back her hair.

"What happened?"

"I drugged you" he smiled

She just looked up at him confused. Her mind felt slightly blurry from sleep and sickness. Gem had been here, feeding her pills until she started to throw up...

"Alec told me they used to simulate pregnancy at Manticore, so we loaded you up on birth control pills….There's probably a better way, but it worked for now."

She shook her head, she'd thought of that once, "I tried that, it didn't work."

He grimaced slightly, thinking of hearing Max retch for over an hour until she collapsed, "We gave you a lot of pills. The pack is on your table. Take one when you feel it returning."

She nodded, "Thank you."

"No thanks necessary."

"I hate being that person Logan."

"You aren't that person." he reminded her, looking down with compassion in those green eyes of his.

She smiled softly for a moment, just enjoying the moment, when suddenly her actions while in heat returned to her, "I kissed Alec" she said with a groan.

He laughed, "Be glad that's all you did."

She shook her head, "Alec with morals…This is happening a lot more frequently. Kinda scary. Maybe it was that time you guys hugged…" she started to tease.

It was Logan's turn to look horrified, "That wasn't my fault…That was Mia's."

"That damn Manticore, look what it does to us."

He laughed, "I'm sorry about the throwing up."

She waved her hand, "No biggie, trust me I'd rather be throwing because of pills than my actions." She pushed back the sheet that covered her, "I need to shower, I feel dirty."

He laughed as he stood with her, "You know Alec's probably not going to let you live this down for awhile."

"Don't remind me." she gave a joking glare


	25. A Summer's Day

**Notes to reviewers:**

GingerSnap - How the hell do you not know who New Kids On the Block are? This had seriously just better be a case of you didn't know the initials (that was a laziness move on my part). Have you never seen VH1 I Love the Eighties? Or it might be Nineties…I have no idea…This is pop culture history! Ah they were insanity, there were Barbie dolls for them, there were several lovely weddings on my street when Midge married Jordan. I'm sorry I had to share that when I read you did not know who Joey was…So wrong, so very wrong.

X52-599: I am so anti-new stories…Every time I start reading a story they stop writing it…I can't deal with the letdown anymore. I'll check it out when I see enough chapters have been posted. Thanks for the recommendation though.

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**Chapter Twenty-Five**

A Summer's Day

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**The Scene: Picnic on the roof. Logan (Cale on his lap), Joshua, Max, Original Cindy circling the food, Alec watching from the door.**

_Alec Voiceover-_

_There are moments when I wish I had just left that thing in my head…Then I remember I'm not that good of a guy._

_Last week though as Max switched from mauling me to crying before my eyes…I would have willingly given my life to take away that pain._

_Seeing her and Logan sometimes…All that love…I wonder if it would be easier if I had never known what that felt like, but I do and I can never escape that. No matter how hard I try._

_I asked Logan why he was never angry about the lie and he just looked at me like I was insane… "I love her Alec, it's as simple as that."_

_I wonder if it really is as simple as that. I mean I'm watching them sit across from each other Logan's trying to teach Cale how to throw popcorn at Max…Of course the wind isn't working with them so it keeps blowing back at them._

_Logan's doc did this whole run down with the virus a few weeks back, we now know every different way she can kill him. It's dead in the hair and dies almost instantaneously when it leaves Max. The doc had even said something about being able to kill the virus through heat, I think that was something between Max and Logan though because they just laughed. I know knowing all of that has taken the edge off of Max, she's less psychotic about killing him. She doesn't freak out when their arms brush up against each other anymore, even though clothing is porous. The virus isn't as virulent as we had all worried it was. Of course we're never going to see either of them again in anything but long sleeves, pants and gloves even though summer has started._

(He laughs)

_Okay he's moved onto grapes and Max is getting bombarded. Who would have ever thought Logan had such a sense of humor. It used to peak out at times, but I mean that guy was always so serious. She's throwing them back now and Cale is clapping his hands laughing as Logan gets pegged in the head._

"You're wasting food" Original Cindy says with attitude.

Logan and Max both drop their hands like scolded children, grins peaking out of the corners of their mouths.

Cale giggles some more.

"Killjoy" Alec says dropping down between her and Max and tosses a fallen grape up at her face striking her in the nose.

"Haha, killjoy" Joshua laughed across from them.

"I'm surrounded by children." then proceeded to knock Alec in the shoulder. "Seriously wasting fruit people." she shook her head

"He started it." Max pointed a finger at Logan.

"I'm trying to improve his pitching arm." Logan defended

"Two problems with that. He's not even 2 and he's an X-8. I think his arm is good."

Original Cindy laughed at the two fake bickering, "Come to Aunt Cindy Boo." she extended her arms to pluck Cale off Logan's lap. "Crazy ass people" she muttered under her breath right before Max hit her in the temple with a grape. She turned to Max, "Oh that's it, you're going down girl." A handful of Logan's salad went sailing past Alec and landed in Max's lap.

"That had dressing on it." Max said looking down at her now stained jeans.

"Your sandwich" Alec coughed under his breath.

Logan had just snatched Cale off of Cindy's lap when an open half eaten Tuna Fish sandwich connected with Original Cindy's cheek.

Joshua joined in an Alec dogged a handful of carrots.

It took another ten minutes for the food to completely stop flying and another ten after that for the laughter to stop.


	26. Outlier

Okay not too sure how much I like this chapter (Shh babyangel, I need to give warnings when I'm not too fond of something). Here it is anyway because I don't know how I'd fix it…There's something missing in it that I'd meant to put in, I just can't remember what that is. Oh well…Hope ya don't hate.

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**Chapter Twenty-Six**

_Outlier_

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Max walked back downstairs after separating from Original Cindy after dropping off their purchases from their day shopping in Max's room. Max and Josh now had enough snacks to last at least another two weeks, well that's if they managed to keep Alec from them.

"Cale, littlest fella" She heard Joshua's desperate voice before she saw either of them. Suddenly she saw Cale darting, well as fast one his age could dart across the room, giggling as Joshua chased after him. She laughed as she scooped up the tiny bundle.

_Poor fella, _she thought as Josh slowed down realizing she had him,_ he must have been looking for him for awhile,_ "Hey Big Fella" she kept her laughter inside as the slightly haggard looking Joshua approached, looking surprised to see her.

"Hey Little Fella, we were just playin with the babies."

Max looked up from tickling the baby and laughingly asking if he'd been bad. She'd only halfway been paying attention to Joshua, but she heard something in his voice. She looked around the main room, "Where's Logan?" He'd arrived as she was leaving that morning, he'd told her he'd see her later, but here she was and no Logan, Cale was with Joshua and Josh was sounding like he was hiding something and it wasn't the fact that Cale had managed to get away from him again. Afterall, that seemed to be his favorite game while with Joshua and only Joshua.

"Umm with Alec"

"What are they doing?' The annoyance was evident in her voice…_What were they up to? _

"I dunno"

She sighed looking at him, no reason to pester Josh. "Where are they?"

"Logan's office"

_Well there was good news, whatever they were up to they hadn't done it yet._ "Thanks Josh, I'll come by your quarters tonight to share my score okay?" She said sweetly, making sure he knew it wasn't him she was annoyed with.

"Kay" he nodded as she started to walk towards the office.

-

She opened the door to see Logan standing over the desk, pointing down at something. Alec, Zen, Cassia (the brunette who had no problem openly ogling Logan) and Kera, a blonde X-5 had all been standing around looking down, but looked back at her as soon as they heard the door.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked walking over

Logan stepped back from the blueprint.

She looked down at it, it was the specs for the hoverdrone. Logan and Alec had come to her weeks ago about breaking into the storage facility and tampering with the chip that detected body temperature that they had installed not for detecting fires, but for detecting transgenics. She'd deemed the mission too risky because they'd not only have to do at least 3 runs according to Logan's intel, they had no one on the inside. She hadn't wanted to risk jeopardizing the talks that were going on over the phone between them and well everyone else.

"I can't believe you guys. You're going behind my back even after I told you this was too dangerous."

"Max," Alec began, "we've been cooped up here for months."

"Yea and you wanna be cooped up in here longer if they realize what we're up to? Or worse?" She shook her head and then turned her attention and anger to Logan "Ugh and you"

She was cut off by Cale's outstretched arms and cry of "Lo"

She continued to glare at him as she allowed Cale's torso to fall away from her own so Logan could easily grab him with no contact between them. "I can't believe you, Mr. Be Careful thinks this is a good idea. Did you guys learn nothing after what happened with White?"

She was referring to the loss of Poe and Miles when Logan had suddenly gotten a lead on White in Utah over two months after he'd gone underground. They'd all been aware there was a good chance it was a setup, but as Alec and Logan had repeatedly pointed out these weren't a bunch of naïve kids, they were the best soldiers in this country; Poe, Miles and Harper had all been out on several missions during their time at Manticore. Yet only Harper had managed to make it home and without any information as to what this shroud of death might be that they were facing.

"Max" he sighed as the baby curled into him, "Everyone just wants to be able to walk down the street." He looked at her and she knew what he was thinking, it had been what he'd told her when he'd first come to her with this idea. There was no way the city was going to willingly remove the heat sensors, they would continue to track the transgenics. That was unless the transgenics made it impossible and considering they hadn't found a way to lower their body temperatures this was the only way, short of bringing down all hoverdrones which would probably piss the city off more. Eventually they'd figure out what had happened, but the point was it bought them time.

Hers and Logan's were the only eyes in contact, the rest all had picked places on the wall to distance themselves from this fight. His weren't going to back down and she knew he'd have the support of this city, they all wanted out and they wanted out now. Hers were not a patient people. She shook her head giving up and extended her arms to take Cale back, he did as she had done before and allowed the youngster to fall away from his body. "When are you going?"

Alec turned back around for this one, "Tonight"

"You've been planning this, this whole time haven't you? How the hell do you expect us to make it out of this if we don't stick together?"

"You're the only one not in this Max," was Alec's reply.

"That's because I'm the only one thinking beyond right here and now." She snapped and turned out of the room.

-

"You know, it's that they think they're invincible." she shook her head, pausing from bitching to Original Cindy and then returned to pacing her room, "You know I thought I was too once….Thought I could take on anyone and anything…You know how well that turned out…I let my guard down for one second and look at where it got me." Memories of seeing a younger version of herself came flooding back to her…Nothing else would have caused the hesitation, but that brief second delay had changed her whole world.

The new lipstick Original Cindy had been trying out fell away from her lips, "That's what this is all about."

"What?" Max looked at her confused.

"You like this"

"Excuse me?" _What the hell was her girl talking about?_

"You're here playing house with Logan." Her eyes briefly dropped to Cale happily ignoring all the anger and playing on the floor, "Once you get back out there, it's back to the real for you guys."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Cindy looked at Max as if she was a simpleton, "Okay let me break it down for ya. As long as you stay here it's going to be Max and Logan. You see him everyday, you eat with him, you play with Cale **with him**; you're in constant contact with the boy."

Max's eyes rolled at the word contact.

"I know, I know, no touching. But while you're here it's just you two…All your talk about moving on, it's just talk. You go back out into that world and you might actually have to live up to your words."

"You're wrong."

"No I'm not. You go back out there, you have to go back to living a real life."


	27. Shut Up Alec

**Haha, I remember what it was that I had left out of Original Cindy's speech to Max…Okay well not all of it, but part. Thank god I was feeling senile.**

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

Shut Up Alec

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He turned up at her room just after seven. She'd gone up with Original Cindy to grab something and had ended up getting distracted and the girls had been sitting there bs-ing while playing with Cale's toys, partially for his benefit, but mostly for their own amusement.

He knocked briefly before opening the door, "Hey" he said with a small 'please stop being mad' smile.

Max glared.

Original Cindy smiled, "Hey boo"

And Cale scampered up to his feet with the aide of Max's hand on his back to make sure he kept his balance while moving so quickly and ran towards Logan.

She hid her smile as Logan scooped the little boy into his arms. Logan would forever be Cale's favorite person, deep within the small child she knew he knew everything Logan saved him from. It was the same with her. Logan was their protector, Logan would always love them more than anyone else ever could, deeper and truer than she'd ever even believed possible and he'd always just accept them for who they were. He was still doing it even after two years. Taking the heat sensors off the hoverdrones was for them first and everyone else second, she didn't doubt that.

"I cooked"

She continued to glare, she couldn't turn it off.

"Fettuccine with chicken and pesto."

"Oooh" OC declared standing up.

A small smile broke past Max's lips.

Logan's grin returned, "Come on. Leaving Alec and Josh alone with food is worse than leaving you with it."

She shook her head as she stood.

-

"Shut up Alec" Max said walking towards them later that night in a pair of black pants and a pink long sleeve shirt and tan gloves, hoping the tan would make the gloves less glaringly obvious to anyone who might see her on the street. A black top and cap resided in the bag slung over her back.

"What?" He raised a hand to his chest. "I didn't say anything." He turned to the girls standing next to him, "Did you hear me say anything?"

Logan laughed as he pulled a pair of gloves out of his pockets. He slung the black bag containing his laptop over his black jacket and black long sleeve black fitted shirt. She wondered for a brief moment if he was going to do something stupid like try to do anything more than stay in the van while the team went in because the black windbreakers completed his cat burglar look. But quickly pushed that thought out of her mind as she started to wonder if Logan was darker than she was, but sadly her sleeves prevented her from seeing any of her flesh to make the comparison. Then again it wasn't surprising, he got outside for hours everyday, he jogged almost every morning with Zen before coming over here. Though why someone would willingly jog in the rain was beyond her, but he did, the frequently crappy weather didn't stop him.

-

He took her hand as they started the walk, it was just a few blocks in the sewers to the van. His latex met her leather. She thought of Original Cindy's words…

"Max, Logan is the package guy."

"I'm aware of that."

"Have you seen how the females look at him here?"

"What's your point?"

"Logan doesn't even notice them. You're still the only girl that boy's got eyes for."

Max shook her head, it was her turn to treat her friend as a simpleton, "Virus designed to kill Logan in me."

"Okay granted that makes things a little difficult." She paused for a moment thinking, "Hmm I wonder if we could get Logan a full body latex suit. Just poke little holes where his nostrils are."

Max laughed a little.

"What's so funny?" Logan asked looking down.

She looked up and envisioned Logan in a giant condom, she coughed trying to stifle her laughter.

Alec looked back and laughed at Max and Logan who had stopped walking as Logan prodded, asking Max what was so funny. She just shook her head and pulled him along. He saw Cassia who had been glancing back frown, _poor girl, she had to learn the hard way just like Asha,_ he thought and once more wondered, _what the hell they all saw in Logan._

Max thanked god as Logan let her laughter slide, she couldn't think of anything to say, just the vision of Logan in a giant body condom. She frowned as she realized how Cassia kept looking back at them, _they didn't train her very well, _Max thought to herself and looked up to Logan to see if OC's words were true. He just looked down at her and smiled her smile. A memory hit her from a few weeks ago…

She heard a slight chuckle as she dipped Cale, she hadn't heard anyone approach. Not uncommon because of all of the noises and the constant flow of people in this building made it difficult to pinpoint a single anything. She turned mid-dance to see Logan standing in the doorway. For a moment their gazes just locked as they both smiled, a nameless to her classical piece played in the background out of an old radio.

"How is he for a partner?" he asked with a nod to Cale.

"Not half bad" she lightly nodded as she smiled.

"Hmmm" his face almost became serious as he walked towards them, "I think he might need a demonstration to really get the hang of it. Kids learn by imitating you know." He lifted Cale from her arms and walked him over to the other side of the room before returning to Max.

She hadn't had a witty comeback for him, she just stepped into his arms. They danced for a while, songs changed as did their dance. It was different than the last time they'd danced, they weren't hugging and just barely moving to the music. They stayed further apart, in proper form, Logan dipped her with the music and spun her at every opportunity the music presented, the mood was also a lot lighter this time. He was just pulling her up from a dip, her eyes glowing with happiness, a smile you couldn't wipe off her face, the blonde waves bouncing. They froze as he brought her all the way back up and stared at each other.

It was a crash that brought them back to reality and saved them from doing something stupid and Cale's loud cry after being scared by the noise saved them from having to talk about it. Logan had rushed over and scooped the young boy away from the pile of books he'd caused to fall over and soothed his tears.

She gripped his hand tighter as she walked. She'd almost forgotten in that moment as she had so many other times. Forgotten what would happen. Her feelings overpowered her thoughts and knocked the virus out of her mind.

He felt her cheek suddenly come to rest upon his arm. He looked down to her, catching just the tiniest bit of her face, the rest hidden by her hair. _One of these days_ he thought for the thousandth time, _I'm just gonna kiss her. Kiss her until the virus takes over. At least three times Bev said, probably even up to five Josh's blood'll work. _He'd almost done it the day she'd said it. Told Josh to go wait outside of Max's room with everything they'd need. He didn't though, he controlled himself. Three times seemed like a lot of chances, but not if this was how they were going to spend the rest of their lives. _One day though, _he thought again as she sighed and held his arm closer to her.


	28. Life Outside the Box

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**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

_Life Outside The Box_

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**In the Van:**

"Here you go Maxie" Alec said extending a set of rolled up blueprints for her to study.

Max turned from the passenger seat to the back were Alec was, she shook her head, "Oh no, I'm not going in…This idiotic idea is all your thing."

"So why the hell are you here?" He looked offended, hell he was offended, she had no idea how much work he and Logan had put into these plans, this wasn't one of her run of the mill Eyes Only missions of the years past.

"I'm here in case this really is the stupid idea I think it is and I need to save the day."

"Gee thanks for your vote of confidence Maxie" he said moving to rejoin the others in the back of the van.

-

She'd gone with him to talk, well to keep him safe and to talk. If she could put Logan inside of a bubble she would, the thought of anything happening to him sent her into a panic she couldn't begin to describe, but was pretty used to feeling after two years. The others were outside waiting for the guards change and unless something arose she and Logan would have almost an hour alone in the van.

"So if all of this works…What then?"

He looked up from the computer screen, "Hmm?"

"What then…what happens if the talks work, if this works?"

"You get your freedom back….You all do."

"White's gonna be back…if not him then someone else."

He nodded, "One enemy at a time Max."

"Lydecker's dead." She turned and focused her attention to the battered Ford emblem on the car in front of them.

Her statement out of the blue only slightly surprised him, he sighed, "I know." They both knew that their months of wishing for him to turn up again were for nothing. If he had been out there he would have come after Jam Pony. This was his great army, he would have come to lead it, nothing could have stopped him. He didn't though.

"All those years thinking he was the great enemy."

"Don't canonize him now Max, he would have thrown you back into Manticore in a second."

"I know, it's just….I don't know…"

"How about what he believed in is something you could understand…You know minus the whole torturing children thing" he smiled as he tacked on the end.

She smiled

"He believed in this country, saving lives…." _Those he had been tracking had been his kids and not just animals; he'd seen them as better than anyone else even if he hadn't treated them that way._

She laughed, "Yea, he was just a little misguided."

"It's a shame, all of his connections…"

She nodded, he didn't mean just for Terminal City, although he could have made this whole thing a lot smoother, of course he could have also sold them out just as easily…Logan was talking about Engel, the doc that did this to them. "Definitely the better enemy to have."

"Yea" he said looking back down at the screen and then back over at her, "How do you feel about your barcode?"

She frowned at his out there question and thought about it for a moment….For years she'd hated that thing, but after her speech… "I don't know…why?"

"I found this geneticist, who says he should be able to remove it. I'm not saying you should hide who you are, but you had wanted it gone once." He didn't share why he'd found the geneticist, didn't tell her that the virus wasn't as perfectly matched to his DNA as they had thought, the changes that would be needed to alter his own enough weren't possible.

She raised a hand up to her neck, lightly touching the makeup covered skin, if someone had asked her that question a year ago she would have been thrilled, this past year though it seemed to define her. She knew what Logan meant, she knew he wasn't asking her to deny everything he'd always wanted her to accept. "I still hate it." she looked at him saying it, "But…"

"It's who you are?" he replied for her, he'd watched her grow in the past year because everything she'd been created to be even though she fought it at every step.

She nodded, "It's not who Cale is though. He shouldn't be branded by Manticore for the rest of his life."

He smiled and slightly puzzled he asked, "You want Cale to lie about who he is?"

She thought about it for a moment, "It's not who I was born, it's not who I was for nineteen years, it's who I became. Seeing Case and Ronnie and all the babies, it's not who they're going to be."

"I'll set it up."

"Hey Logan" the earpiece crackled with Alec's voice.

-

"You never answered my question." she said sometime later.

"I'm sorry?" he once more looked up from the computer not following their conversation.

She knew whatever he was engrossed in wasn't that important, Logan always made when it was very clear, "What now? Should I be getting my groveling skills ready?"

He raised his eyebrows looking at her, "You want to go back to Normal?"

"He's really not as bad as I make him seem. Not saying I miss that grating voice of his, but…" she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

He laughed, "I wouldn't suggest going back there just yet…Remember White?"

"Oh that's right, so no apartment for you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I rented it out, I have until November to decide what I want to do with it. Somehow I can't imagine my neighbors wanting me back."

Max laughed, but then paused looking at him. They'd just been dancing around the subject, _what about them? _"We had some good times at that place."

"We'll have good times at other places. The good times aren't ending."

"Just back to the real world."

His mouth slightly opened, but it couldn't find any words so he nodded.

She looked away, worried that tears would start to form. She looked down as his hand grasped hers, she turned back to face him.

"It's not the world we left almost four months ago. We won't ever let it be that world again."

"Promise"

"We're not going anywhere Max" he made his words clear and eerily similar to all the times he'd stayed with her when she was sick.

"Hey guys miss us?" the van door swung open and there was Alec flanked by the other X-5's.

-

**Max Voiceover on the roof as the sun rises-**

You know you think about a lot when you're trapped in a box with little more room than needed to wiggle your pinky. Not that I hadn't thought a lot in the months leading up to that. Thinking had been all I had been able to do lying in bed recovering, well thinking and trying not to think as they made their best attempts at brainwashing. That little box though, no food or water, no outside stimulation…Yea I did a lot of thinking in that box…Well thinking or hallucinating whatever you wanna label it.

In the bed it had been all the ways I had screwed up, all the times I should have ran when I stayed…I couldn't really feel guilty about those though, I wasn't angry with myself because those extra months with Logan…Yea those were worth a lot more than a life on the run. I thought about how close we'd come so many times. I thought about what it would be like when I saw him again, _I thought about that a lot._

That box though…In that box I did see him….I don't know how far in I was, but I saw him. _I came home to him. _

He's the only way I survived that without going mad. I forgot everything else, I forgot hunger and thirst. _I was with him. _

I came home to him. We made love in his bed. I told him how I loved him. I wasn't hungry because he was there cooking for me. For at least 3 days I was with him. With him as if Manticore didn't exist.

I almost asked to be put back in as they came to take me out. _Just leave me here to die, at least I'll be with him._

Then I remembered he was still out there. Still out in the world. So I allowed them to carry me off, back to that tiny cell. I know this is different than that, this has been real and not just a hallucination my mind needed to survive. Principle's kinda the same though and no matter how good it feels to be 'playin house' as my girl called it, there's a real life out there we gotta get back to.

(She smiles)

I had one other thought as I collapsed into my bed afterwards and it was 'Damn Lydecker would be proud.' First I made it through the brainwashing and then a week with no food or water, trapped in a tiny little box? That's pretty freakin unbelievable. Sure, he wouldn't have been proud of my methods…No focusing on Logan was definitely not what he would have ordered, but he would have been proud of the results.

(She smiles once more looking out onto the city)

_Yea I think that sick bastard would have been proud._

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**Author's Notes**

**Lydecker:** Okay I pulled him in because I wanted to make it clear that he wasn't coming back to save the day. Then the whole Max thing (words that appear on the screen really aren't my fault, fingers move words appear, my mind isn't really in use) I think it's just a she wishes he was still around because he could have saved the day, he could have given her back Logan. Max still hates him and it's not that she forgives him, but she knows that as bastards go he's pretty low down on the list. He also had real change towards the end, which they both acknowledge.

**Max Voiceover:** Okay so out of the blue while I was thinking about another dream for Max's future, I started thinking about the box…So it was either I shove this little part in here or I was going to be forced to write a short story involving all of S2 being a hallucination caused by the box and that would lead to the same place as "Duck" did.

**The Reviews:** Oh my god, actually long detailed reviews…My god I almost died of shock (once more babyangel, I've been spoiled by yours (I do not take them for granted though)). Others reviewed though, long reviews…Amazing. Thank you. (Please note all other readers any size review makes me happy, long ones cause shock which must be mentioned since I normally have to pull teeth, they also inspire me to finish a chapter I was putting off until tomorrow (actually short reviews do that too)).


	29. Rub A Dub Dub

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**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

_Rub-a-dub-dub_

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Hazel eyes twinkled and a grin snuck out from the corners of his lips. She didn't know he was there, so he was able to catch her in full form. The blonde hair that Original Cindy enforced on the girl once a month was pulled back into a ponytail, one stray lock having fallen out rested upon her cheek and was continuously being pushed behind her ear. He was pretty sure when she turned, he'd see water stains on the pink ribbed tank and blue jeans.

She was bathing Cale in one of the industrial sized sinks, this had once been a kitchen so it was the perfect place to bathe him with burners only feet away from the sink; it was shame they couldn't fit in the sink. He watched her scoop up a handful of bubbles and blow them at him, Alec's smile grew further as he listened to the baby's giggles. She'd used the baby shampoo to create the bubbles, which he would have thought was a waste if it weren't for the laughter.

He wondered if she had any idea how right this looked, it made no sense, but dammit if didn't look right. He would have never imagined his Maxie as a mom, but she wore the role pretty well, even if she didn't realize it. She always snapped at him when he called her Cale's mom, she was still fighting it. He didn't know what Logan's deal was; he didn't fight it as outright as Max. Still though after almost 4 months, he would have thought Logan would have made the switch…Allowed himself to be called a dad. There was something weird holding them back, he just didn't know what.

He smiled again watching as Max picked up a rubber ducky and bounced it around for the little boy's amusement. He remembered what he told her that day watching one of the new babies, 'That could have been us.' He had to admit the thought of what others had was tempting, all of that family and love…A little bit of him and Max in a person.

He'd thought about it on more than a few occasions. Him and Max. In theory it was great, they didn't fight like they once had, they'd actually managed to become pretty good friends and while he'd always deny it, he loved her. Max was only the second person he'd even cared about in this world, he would always be there for her.

So he'd wondered about it a few times, the majority of their hearts were both with someone else, _so it made sense right? _Then he thought about it further, remembering how Rachel had looked at him, in her eyes he was the whole world. She'd loved him in a way he hadn't deserved, a way that he'd never deserve, a way that frightened him….Dammit if he didn't want to be loved that way again. It was foolish to want to be someone's whole world, the only thing it guaranteed was pain.

Then he'd watch Max and Logan, the intensity in which they still loved each other. The endless love that didn't change even though they were both sure a cure wasn't coming. He couldn't remember when they'd stop saying 'when the virus is gone,' but they both had. Max had made it more than clear to him on a few occasions that there wasn't a future for her and Logan like that. Yet the love was still there.

There was the other reason behind his saying 'No' to Max when she was in heat, well besides the fear of death the following day. He knew he could fall in love with her further, be in love with her and not just love her. It wasn't just playing second fiddle for the rest of his life, it was the knowing that he'd lose her in a heartbeat if the virus were ever cured.

He thought of Logan and his morals, those might actually make Logan stay back. That guy had such a black and white view of right and wrong sometimes.

"Rubber ducky you're the one, you make bath time lots of fun" Max paused and Alec bit back a laugh over Max's singing. "What the hell are the words? I've listened to Logan sing that how many times?"

"It's Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you" Max turned as Alec walked up saying the words, he threw in a fake little dance move as he reached them, "Woo woo be do"

Max laughed, completely ignoring the fact that Alec had just heard her attempt at singing, "I think Logan does it better than us. I just like the Rub-a-dub-a-dubby."

Alec laughed, "I just like hearing Logan of all people say that."

Max laughed, "I know, it's great."

"He's a really great dad." Alec said thoughtfully.

"Yea he is" Max nodded.

"Wow" Alec said moving on, not wanting to push Max any farther, he was worried she was heading for a heartbreak unless she came to terms with who she was to Cale, hell who she was to Logan. "That barcode's almost gone."

"I know" Max said smiling as she wiped the washcloth over the back of Cale's neck. Skin cells were replaced quickly and the barcode was barely visible now, it had disappeared like a fading tan.

_"_ _Logan__ it's still there" Max had said as he placed the young boy in her arms. _

_He laughed, "Max give the cells a chance to slough off." _

_"Oh" she said making a face, realizing she was an idiot, "I knew that." They'd changed the genetic level, not the surface like a laser. _

"We're really almost free" he said running a finger along the boy's wet neck. One more run, one more tampering with the heat sensors on the hover drones and they'd be back out in the real world again.

"Yea" Max nodded and wondered once more, what the hell that meant.

"Duck!" Cale called up.

"Oops, sorry" Max laughed and returned the duck to his view. "How about you sing as I bathe?"


	30. Just About Free

Okay so this was supposed to be chapter 17 (part has also been pre-written for awhile and that always bothers me when it's just sitting there), the story has kinda gotten away from me. So I was going to put more stuff in but seriously…Hopefully I'm not missing anything too major. So here's the chapter.

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**Chapter 30**

_Just About Free_

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Max Voiceover- 

We're safe to walk the city streets again. Okay well duck face down kinda safe for me, but totally safe for everyone else. The talks are progressing nicely as well, they wanted a sit down, but so far I've talked them out of that claiming we could be set up. That's not my main concern though, I just don't want them to know my face any further, the last thing I want is for my face to end up in the history books or worse the evening news. Logan has the right idea with Eyes Only, anonymity matters. The hoverdrones are gone though, after 5 runs instead of the 3 they expected, but still nothing tragic happened, there wasn't even a guard dog to chase Alec or anything fun like that.

Logan's coming by today, we're going out into the city to celebrate, taking Cale on his first real tour of this place we call home. Finally enjoy a little bit of summer that isn't on concrete. Not that the small pool Original Cindy and I brought a few weeks ago wasn't good for some summer fun…Hell the sight alone of Logan and Alec stripped down to their boxer brief's, their legs dangling out of the pool because they didn't fit and Cale wandering around the small space in-between them was more than enough summer fun…Ronnie's lucky her mom has so much control because we both almost fell to the floor when we walked up to the roof to see that. Of course, we'd had the same idea, just kinda different to see Logan and Alec doing it.

-o-o-o-o-

"It's open" Max called out as she slipped on her gloves.

She frowned as she took in Logan's outfit, it easily pushed aside the joy of seeing him. He was wearing lightweight khaki cargo shorts, a white long sleeve crewneck shirt, sneakers and a white cap, no gloves.

He frowned looking at hers. Jeans, white long sleeved shirt and gloves.

"Why are you wearing shorts/Did you not notice it's 90 degrees out?" they asked each other at the same time.

Logan sighed, "Max, we're supposed to blend in."

She focused her eyes on his with a deadly intensity, "We're not going to blend in if you're lying on the street dying."

"These may be my very last days walking and wearing shorts. Let me enjoy them."

She laughed, "You're not guilt-ing me over your legs. Anyway, we're going out into the city, you should be wearing the exo."

"I wear that thing all the time, let me enjoy the sunshine on my legs."

She looked down at his golden legs and then back up at him, "Your legs are the same color as the rest of you. They get sun."

He looked down and grimaced, "Okay but still, this time next year, I won't be able to feel the sun beating down on them. Anyway, we'll be late if I go home for pants."

"I'm sure someone here has pants you can borrow."

"Max" he looked at her

"Logan" she looked back

"Go change"

"I'm not changing."

He laughed, "Max, I swear we'll be fine. Where's Cale?"

"Josh took him as I got dressed. You're really not going to change?"

He shook his head, "Leave the jeans just change the shirt Max and lose the gloves."

She sighed, "The bare skin Logan."

"One layer is fine Max as long as we're careful." He hoped he wasn't lying, he was just getting sick of being fully covered in 90+ degree weather.

-o-o-o-o-

"I really think you should change." She said walking into Joshua's room.

Logan just looked up from the floor and she knew it was pointless. She smiled taking in the sight before her, Cale playing in front of Logan was wearing almost a similar outfit to his, only his shorts were a dark orange and his shirt was a tee shirt. "We'll see you later Joshua" Logan said standing holding the little boy. "Say bye"

"Bye" the little boy imitated.

Max bit back telling Josh not to wander too far otherwise Logan wouldn't be seeing him later and simply said "Bye"

-o-o-o-o-

Logan absent mindedly pushed the stroller back and forth as he waited for Max to return, he was just looking at the goods on the table and not really paying attention to them.

"Hey Logan"

His cousin's voice shocked him out of being lost in his thoughts, he looked up to see Bennett approaching. For a moment, while Logan was still dazed he wondered why his cousin looked so confused to see him. Then he took in the situation, he not only was pushing a stroller, he was pushing a stroller with a toddler in it. "Hi" Logan said rather awkwardly.

"You have a kid in a stroller and you're walking." Bennett's eyes kept glancing between Logan's bare legs and Cale as he stated the obvious.

"Uh" Logan opened his mouth to try to speak.

"Cale look what I found for you" Max said sweetly walking over, totally ignoring everyone but the baby as she displayed a new toy.

"Cale?"

Max looked up to see Bennett, her mouth fell open.

"Max?" his eyes squinted from behind the glasses, unsure despite the face that this was the same girl he had met over a year and a half ago.

"Hi Bennett, nice to see you."

He looked down at the baby again and was trying to figure everything out in is head, he just looked pretty damn confused.

"We really need to be going Bennett, we're running late as it is. Right Max?" Logan said abruptly

"Uh yea, it was really good seeing you Bennett, tell Marianne we say hi."

-o-o-o-o-

"Well that was weird." Logan said as he pushed the stroller, Max walking along side of it.

"Slight understatement."

"How he…." Logan shook his head thinking about his cousin's rapid glances between him, Max and Cale.

"Yea" Max said nodding her head in agreement and they continued to walk on.

-o-o-o-o-

"This is nice, why haven't we ever done this before?" Logan said lying back on the blanket spread out on the grass, Cale resting on his chest.

She sighed as she leaned back too, remnants of their lunch lay between them. "We never had a summer before. It was always cold, wet and you were antisocial." She added the last knowing the first two weren't really a reason, not for them.

"Hmm" he said as his head dropped to the side to look at her, "Sorry about that."

A small smile touched her lips as she wondered if he'd grieved as much for her as he had his legs, she rolled her head to face him, "No biggie. Glad you got over it."


	31. Awareness

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**Chapter 31**

_Awareness_

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Still at the Park: 

"No one ever told me you had a child." Max turned in fear to see Clemente standing at the edge of the swingset. "Then again, no one seemed to know anything about you."

Logan dropped the camera he'd been holding in his pocket as Max grabbed hold of the chains to stop the swing, cutting short Cale's first time on a swing.

He looked at Logan and then back at Max who was now holding Cale, "I certainly understand now why you'd put yourself in the line of fire."

"I'm sorry do we know you?" Logan asked calmly.

Clemente laughed at the unoriginal line, "Nice job with the hair Max. Most people a dye job doesn't cut it, but I honestly didn't realize it was you until I was almost on top of you." He looked at Cale once more curled into Max's body, "You know I would have never pictured you as a mom." He smiled at the baby then turned to Logan, "Cute kid, really takes after you."

"Thank you."

"I have two," he said nodding his head, "girls…I would do anything for them or their mother." that last comment directed his attention back to Logan. "Suddenly why Logan Cale jumped on top of a car and took a sniper makes a lot more sense."

"How long have you known who I was?" Logan asked appearing to keep his cool, Max was right he was an idiot for not wearing the exo; they could have been out of the park by now.

"Took a few weeks. Saw what they did to your apartment…Let me guess White?"

Logan nodded, "So if you've known who I am for months…" he left the question implied

Clemente gave a shake of his head, "Asked around about you…" he then turned back to Max, "And I told you, I appreciated that you didn't turn that day into a bloodbath."

Max who had remained silent, her eyes scanning for officers approaching or any misplaced sounds in the background, couldn't deal with this anymore, "Clemente can we just stop the chit chat and you can tell me what it is you want?"

"How long have you been out?" he asked eying Cale.

"Clemente"

"Max it's a simple question."

"Twelve years."

He looked puzzled by that, it made sense with the kid, but how had she become so involved with all the newcomers.

"I was recaptured over a year ago. I spent 3 months there," she answered the question obvious in his eyes.

He nodded finally understanding and caught a glimpse of Logan's eyes as he'd listened to her words, the pain that flashed behind them couldn't be masked. "Must have been tough" he said to him, and then turned back to Max, "On all of you."

_Tough,_ that was a joke of a word, "You have no idea. Are we done yet?"

"Yea" Clemente said with a nod, his eyes focusing on the little boy still patiently curled up into Max's body, he smiled.

* * *

Sandeman's House: 

"Oh my god," Max said pushing the empty stroller into the house behind Logan and Cale.

Logan turned around and smiled, "Like it?"

Max's eyes dropped over to him in shock, if she hadn't followed Logan into the house she would have been sure she'd gone in the wrong door. The place was immaculate, the walls a freshly painted cream, the wood sanded and finished, the place positively gleamed.

He laughed over Max's stunned silence, "Zen and I had a lot of free time on our hands. That and the neighbors started complaining about us playing ball at 2 am."

"Oh my god," Max repeated as she started walking into the living room. Some of the upholstery on the furniture wasn't in the best condition, but everything that could be fixed, was. She barely recognized the furniture she'd previously seen in the basement and attic; they'd even moved the piano upstairs.

"Figured it might be easier for Joshua to come back if it…"

Max sighed, _didn't remind him of Annie. _He still wasn't over losing her, "I don't know. I think he might actually like it there."

Logan shrugged his shoulders, "Like I said Zen and I had a lot of free time on our hands. Everyone else who crashed here helped."

"I can't believe you did this though," she said touching the doorframe, imagining the hours they had spent sanding, staining and painting.

"It was kind of nice actually," Logan smiled as he put Cale down on the floor. "Working with your hands and everything."

She laughed, "What the exo didn't count?"

"This," he said looking around the room, "this was different." He smiled, "Cathartic."

She smiled, "How many rooms have you done?"

He just looked at her.

"You've got to be kidding me," she started adding up the rooms in her mind, it was a big house. 4 bedrooms maybe?

"Four months Max." _Four months and the help of various transgenics._

"And here I felt bad leaving you in this dump. If you tell me you have hot water in this joint"

Logan smiled.

Max groaned, "Hot water, you've got to be kidding me."

"How many times did I fix the exo?" Logan reminded her.

Max frowned thinking of all of her cold showers and sponge baths at Terminal City.

---------

The Bathroom: 

"What are we doing Max?"

She looked up at him from her seat on the toilet as she wiped off Cale's sauce covered face as Logan removed a small piece of spaghetti lingering in her hair after holding Cale throughout dinner. _What was he asking?_

He stepped back, leaned against the sink and looked down at them, it was all so natural, so easy, which made no sense.

She continued looking at him, watching him watch them, she didn't say the words she would have said years earlier when questions were difficult and stating her obvious actions, instead she honestly admitted, "I don't know." She wasn't fully sure what he was asking, but that was her answer regarding everything involving them.

"I can't give him up Max; I don't think you can either."

She looked confused by that, "I never thought you were going to."

He remained still after hearing her words. He had planned to with Cale as he had done with dozens of other children, find him a good home, not his own. _After all what did he have to offer? _He had thought he would be able to let go, but every day that passed the thought of that became harder and harder to even consider, "I thought I'd be able to let him go." _Just like I thought I'd be able to let you go, _he'd realized the day he woke up in the hospital to see Max's face that was a lie.

"Where would he go Logan? You're his dad." she said the words simply for the first time aloud and not in her thoughts.

He thought for a moment, "Clement thought he was ours. My own cousin thought he was ours."

"What are you saying Logan?" he hadn't said the word mine, he said ours.

"Can you let him go any easier than I can?" he asked again

She looked down the little boy now happily entertained by the washcloth in his hands and totally ignoring them. She thought of how empty her arms would feel without him in them. She looked back up at Logan; it was the same pain she had felt every time she'd thought about leaving him.

"Bev guessed he was born in December or January." He referenced back to Bev's examination of him soon after his arrival in Terminal City.

Her head tilted, waiting for him to explain.

"Bennett's wedding was in January. That's why he thought he was ours. Timing fits."

Max mind pushed back the fact that they hadn't even known each other a full year then and caught on to what he was thinking. " Logan what exactly are you saying?" _She needed to hear the words._

"Let people think he's ours. He's safer that way, less questions get asked, documents/records are easier to fake. Even if people find out about you…"

She nodded, catching on to what he was thinking, everyone at her job and her apartment had proven their loyalty, but his family if they were to find out or others…Thinking he had Logan's blood running through him would help keep Cale safe. And they were no longer a couple, adopting a child didn't happen between friends.

"He's ours Max" his focusing on them. Finally allowing the words of people like Alec and Original Cindy hit him, all the times they'd referred to Max and Logan as Cale's parents, the reactions of the people they'd interacted with today outside Terminal City, not just Bennett and Clemente; everyone they encountered had viewed them as a family.

"So what do you want to do?" her words were calmer than what was going on inside of her head and her racing heart.

"My family already thinks I'm an asshole Max

She looked at him slightly confused.

"We let them think Cale is ours. Barcode is gone. Timing fits. My family only met you at Bennett's wedding."

Logan saying the words aloud impacted her even though she'd known he was leading up to them. It hadn't been playing house, it had been as real as it felt even if they hadn't been aware of it.

He squatted down in front of her, one gloved hand on Cale's back, the other resting on her knee, he looked at the little boy sitting on her lap, and then up at her, "If I'm his dad Max"

She nodded knowing what he was leading up to, "I'm his mom."

Their eyes both fell back down to Cale. 


	32. Family

**Hmmm don't know how I feel about this chapter. That's all I'm going to say. It's the ** **Logan****'s feeling scene that has been asked for, just ended up a little different than I planned.**

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**Chapter 32**

_Family_

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Sandeman's house, Logan behind his computer looking at pictures from the day. Max opening her mouth while eating and making a face at a laughing Cale, Cale resting upon his chest….He stops at a picture of Cale on the swing, shortly before Clemente arrived on the scene, Max bent over to his level, their faces next to each other.

**Logan**** Voiceover-**

_Family_

'You're my family,' she'd said those words in what I'd once thought were our final hours. I spent the next three months thinking about them.

Family

I'd had one once, a good one. But I was the child in that one. Beloved son, only child, much like Cale.

I'd tried to recapture some of that happiness with Valerie, I couldn't though. It wasn't the kind of thing you could force.

Family though.

It's responsibility, it's loyalty, it's love. All without being aware of it, never having to think about it.

_Love._

That's what remained when I'd finished analyzing it for the millionth time. Family is love, especially to Max.

'You're my family'

I'd hated myself because of those words. I was part of the reason she went. "Never gonna be any kind of anything." she'd said.

I hated myself for being the reason she didn't leave Seattle, time and time again she stayed because of me.

Can't change the past though. Can't go back and redo it all.

All those months I spent feeling guilty, spent being angry with myself over everything that didn't happen between us when I'd had the chance…

We hadn't acted any differently than anyone else would have in our situation. Losing my legs, feeling like less of a person, unworthy of…Well everything, but especially Max. The world that Max had been forced to grow up in...No we hadn't acted any out of what the circumstances we had been put in to would describe as ordinary. Nine months, that really wasn't so long when you thought about it, not for what we had to come to terms with and we'd both only started to heal once we'd come together again.

Forgiving myself has been the hard part, gotta move past though. Can't get it back. We only have the future.

(He smiles at the picture)

I loved Cale from the start just like Max. I was completely unaware of it though, just like I'd been with her. I'd grown up with love, spent my first sixteen years in a happy family. I should have been able to recognize it, but after my parents, the Pulse….I don't know, all I know is the awareness of my love for her, much like my love for him crept up on me, until the thought of losing them overwhelmed me. Maybe that's the other thing family is, permanence, family is forever. _Forever love. _

"I really hate my hair"

He jumped as she spoke over his shoulder looking at the picture.

"Sorry" she laughed

He shook his head, "It's fine, gotta get used to it again." _That or tie a bell around her neck,_ how many times had he thought about that.

He took in the sight of her before him, wearing his clothes, not for the first time. In the past though at his old place she'd crashed in his boxers and a tee-shirt. These days were different though, after her shower she'd put on a pair of gray drawstring pants and had them rolled several times at the bottom, socks that he guessed reached almost to her knees. She had on a white long sleeved cotton shirt that was also cuffed several times and fell almost to her knees, underneath it he knew she still wore one of the two white tanks she'd had layered on today. He'd seen the remaining shirt and her jeans folded in the room across from his own where they'd put down Cale deciding it was too late for her to go back to Terminal City, that and they hadn't wanted to leave each other, but they didn't say that, _they never did._

She was lucky she was transgenic and the heat didn't bother her because although it had greatly cooled from the day it was still hot. The fans Logan had blowing around the room weren't doing much to keep him cool in the water-proof pants he'd donned after his shower, like the jacket she would always rest her cheek upon, they didn't fear the virus getting through the virtually impermeable material.

She moved over to the couch and smiled at him as she picked up the remote turning on the tv. She rotated her shoulder as he turned off the computer. "Your shoulder still bothering you?" he asked

"It's a little stiff" she said reluctantly, shrugging it down. "Tell Alec and I'll hurt you."

Logan laughed as he walked over to her, she and Alec had decided to have another fight; it wasn't their first since moving into Terminal City. Logan hadn't fully figured out the cause of their actions yet, some sibling rivalry, trying to always best the other, they did seem to have fun though, in a slightly disturbed, sadistic way. He was definitely glad they were getting out of there soon. "Here let me" he said sitting down awkwardly on the couch next to her, one leg bent across the couch, the other on the floor so he was sitting almost sideways, she shifted herself so her back was to him.

She ordered herself to breathe as she felt his hands start to encompass her shoulder. Logan had done this in the past, attempted to ease her strained muscles. It had always resulted in her pulling away before he was done though, unable to understand the flood of emotions that would open within her.

"Max"

"Hmm?"

"Relax" he laughed

_That had happened a lot too,_ she softly laughed, "Sorry." Max's body relaxed as Logan's hands moved around her injured shoulder.

"You and Alec are going to kill each other one of these days."

"He needed to be put in his place." she said with a smirk

"You sure you don't like him? Hitting was a very big sign of affection on the playground."

"Ugh" he groaned mostly as a joke as her elbow slightly connected with his ribs. "I'll take it that was a no about Alec" he laughed and moved his hands back up to her body.

"That shoulder is fine Logan" she said with a soft smile as his hands eventually trailed across her back to the other side.

"Only half of you can't be relaxed Max"

"Why do you always call me Max?" she asked from her slightly bent over and highly relaxed form. She was relaxed, relaxed in a way….Hmm she couldn't remember_, had to have been before she met _ _Logan__ though. _

"It's your name." he offered

"You don't do nicknames."

"I've called you plenty of other things besides your name." a grin tugged up the corner of his lips.

She smiled; they'd both called each other longer names, descriptions of who they were, but not nicknames. "You know what I mean"

"Your name is you, it's special. Nicknames are common and there's nothing common about you." He'd used nicknames, 'terms of affection' for dozens of women, lovers and friends, her name though….

"Hmm" she said with a small smile, "Good answer."

He softly chuckled as his hands moved down to her lower back.

She groaned and arched back, not working with his hands at all.

"Getting a little stiff from sleeping on the floor." he asked, eyebrows raised.

She smiled as she rounded over again, "I gotta admit it'll be nice to be back in my bed again."

His hands stayed on her for awhile, both of them ignoring the tv on in the background, her eyes fluttered open and closed.

A finger eventually traced along her arm and she smiled again, " Logan"

"Max?"

The smile continued, "Nothing, just Logan"

He chuckled softly and turned her around to face him, her relaxed state so very obvious in her face; it looked like she'd just been awakened. He traced a finger along her jaw and let it briefly glide across her lips before it trailed down to her neck.

She forgot about the virus for only an instant and she wondered as the green and brown connected if he was going to kiss her. She groaned as she remembered that wasn't possible.

His lips raised in a smile in response to her groan then he brought the palm of her hand up to his lips and kissed the latex. Their eyes remained locked and she felt every sensation his lips created, the latex did nothing to distort the feelings, whether it was the months without real touch or the sensitivity of her senses…. "God you're beautiful" he said raising his hand back up to her face, her head tilted back on instinct, her body expecting lips to caress her. He ran his fingers over her neck once more.

She raised her head forward again to ask what the were doing, but she lost her words as their eyes reconnected. The last time they'd kissed had been almost a year ago… " Logan" she whispered, her voice almost a whimper, _she missed him so bad…_

He placed a hand on her back and he raised himself up as he lowered her down, careful to keep their body contact to a minimum…there was no way to guarantee exactly how much they could get away with. His eyes were over her, staring intensely into hers before his head disappeared. With her head titled back he softly kissed the area between her shoulder and collarbone where he knew two layers of clothing existed, his lips were dry there was nothing to speed along the virus's transmission.

" Logan" she whispered softly, but didn't raise her head for fear of knocking their heads together.

He raised over her again, one hand propped on the side of the couch, the other on the top of the couch, keeping them separated, "Zen will be home within an hour I swear."

She swallowed hard because she knew what that meant, if anything happened Zen would be home in plenty of time to save him. She nodded. Only with Logan could something so unnatural feel so right. "The floor" she whispered, the floor would provide less contact, though less contact was the last thing she wanted.

He smiled as he raised her back up and raised himself off the couch, holding onto her hand and smiled down as she lowered herself to the floor and slightly tugged him forward. He lay on the side of her at first, gently raining kisses across her body and trailing a hand across the other side, her face and lips. He moved over her and started to raise the hem of her shirt.

She pushed aside the fear that suddenly entered her mind, Logan wasn't stupid, she had to trust in that and raised her arms up for him to pull the garment free. He slightly smiled down at her body in appreciation, his hands replaced his lips and he used the ribs of her shirt to work with them. Her breath grew more shallow and rapid as his hands moved over her and then under her shirt. She started to wonder if Cindy knew anyone who could make that latex suit she'd talked of…_Original Cindy knew everyone._

He moved up again on her side, his eyes which had grown shades darker looked into hers. She caught her breath as she realized a hand was on the drawstring of the pants. What Logan had planned was suddenly so very clear. A noise, not one from the tv startled her, pulled her out of the haze he'd created for her. "What's wrong?" he asked his own breath slightly rapid.

"Someone's outside" she said as she released a ragged breath.

He quickly raised himself away from her and extended a hand to help her up, not that she'd needed it, but certain things within Logan were programmed deep and she kinda liked them. She tucked her feet under her on the couch and turned her attention to the tv. Logan retreated behind his desk.

"Hey Logan" Zen called out just before he reached the doorway.

Logan cursed inwardly for yet another reason besides being interrupted; he didn't want Zen to wake Cale.

"Oh hey Max" the other man said slightly surprised to see her there.

"Hey Zen" she said smiling and standing, hoping the X-5 wouldn't see how shaky her legs were. "I'm gonna head up to bed. Night guys."

"Night Max" they both replied.

Zen kept one eye trained on Max as she disappeared out of sight and when he finally heard the click of her door above them he tuned to Logan. "Did I miss something man?"

Logan leaned back in the seat, rubbed a hand over the back of his head and groaned.

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**Yea okay so once more, don't know about this chapter. Damn 40 days and 40 nights and that feather scene for creeping into my thoughts as I'm trying to plan an intimate near kiss moment (that and all of my laughter over first Logan in a full body latex suit and then seeing his face through a giant condom...I'm so glad I amuse myself). Also trying to figure out what the hell would keep it at PG-13...I have no idea what the hell that rating means.**


	33. So Much More

**Okay so weird, kinda almost sex scenes are the way to get you guys to reply aren't they? And people there will be no "Virus Cure Answer" being told in any of my author's notes. I totally screwed up, like boxed myself in with the last chapter, not my fault, I blame Michael Weatherly (I can't keep my thoughts on track when picturing him). Also technical issues totally happening to annoy me along with what the hell the scene would be after the last one…I wanted flashing between Max and ** **Logan****'s thoughts but that would just be too annoying to read. God this story is sooo off track! **

**Oh Rajana, good call on the name. I forgot to put that in the last chapter, there was supposed to be a flashback as he was looking at the pictures thinking about family.**

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**Chapter 33**

_So Much More_

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Max sat on top of the desk, her feet on the chair and looked down at Cale sleeping peaceful where he'd been tucked in earlier by them.

_She let out a shaky breath a few moments after she'd said 'I'm his mom,' finally breaking her eye contact with _ _Logan__. "Why is it everyone else…" she shook her head _

_Logan__ smirked, "Knows everything before we do?" _

_"Yea" she smiled, how many months had Alec and Cindy made comments about Cale being theirs? _

_"I have no idea" he said with a shake of his head _

_"So how exactly do we go about this?" she asked looking down at the little boy that they had officially just claimed as their own, but their hearts had done so months earlier. _

_Logan made a face, then turned his attention to the boy on Max's lap, his attention beginning to waver from the washcloth. He lifted the little boy into his arms and stood causing her to smile, they couldn't be the more perfect father and son even if they shared blood. Logan laughed as he looked down into the little boy's face, he was at a total loss for words. _

_Max stood, placed a hand on Logan's back and the other on Cale's arm and looked up at _ _Logan__ "He's ours." _

She smiled thinking about that scene earlier in the bathroom, the bathroom of all places to admit they were a family. She couldn't describe the feelings that had run through her just a few moments later, when Logan for the first time said, "Let's go to Mommy" as he transferred Cale over to her. Or when she'd said "Let's see what Daddy's doing" when he'd been distracted by some new information that'd been sent to him, it was this weird awkward but incredibly right kinda thing. Like sitting up on the bathroom counter as Logan gave Cale a bath in an actual bathtub, the toddler finding throwing his toys and the bubbles at Logan a lot more fun than the bath itself. Or putting Cale down to sleep together…

She blamed all those things for why their emotions were running so high and they hadn't been thinking clearly, cooking dinner together after a day at the park…All the times they'd just stopped at looked at each other…

She shook her head, her sanity returning. Pushing aside all the thoughts of how they could keep their skin covered, dozens had run through her mind as Logan's lips and hands trailed over and teased her body. She wouldn't have imagined any thought were possible, but different ways to make him closer kept flooding her mind.

They couldn't do it though. They couldn't go down that path.

Her mind was screaming it at her, her body though could still feel his hands over her, the heat of his breath over her skin...

They could get away with it for awhile….God they could be happy for awhile; she knew they'd take it too far either by accident or just by feelings overriding everything else. Something would happen and Logan would…

She took a shuddering breath and shook her head, he wouldn't die, there were too many transgenics, they would always be able to find one in time.

_The question is once they started how would they stop?_ From how she was feeling right now, she was betting they couldn't. They would do it again, start down that path…

What would happen? Would he die? Would they have to force themselves to stay away entirely?

How could she be around him like that and not just kiss him? She couldn't count the times it had happened today, them alone just at looking at each other…

Them alone was the big problem. They couldn't be alone; it was too natural, too right. They got comfortable so quickly with each other…She'd never be able to stay away though. She'd tried before and after the virus, it would never work.

_How could she let him go after… _

She couldn't feel anymore, she couldn't be so close again to have it taken away. It didn't make her want it any less though.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Zen walked back into the room with a bag of chips, blue eyes focused on Logan.

"What?" Logan said from behind his computer, he'd turned it on to attempt getting his mind off of Max.

Zen lifted up the shirt Logan had stripped off of Max.

"She got hot" it was a bad excuse; Max was always covered head to toe no matter what the temperature.

"I'm sure she did." He said dropping the shirt on the couch and laughing, "Night"

Logan didn't bother responding; he pushed away from the desk and stood. Two words came to his mind.

_Slippery Slope _

He shook his head as he walked across the room to the open windows. He still wanted her, wanted her in anyway he could have her. He hadn't meant to do anything more than massage her sore shoulder, then just kiss her palm, the next thing he knew his lips were against her shirt.

This would tear them apart in the end. He held back his fist right before he sent it flying into the wall. How could there be no doctors? How was that possible? No freakin leads in months, well over half a year without even a lead. He'd talked about it before with Alec, talked about one of the X-series doing the same type of crash course that Max had done, but if Max hadn't been able to figure it out….He needed someone with experience, who knew how viruses acted and not what was read in a text book.

He knew the talk they'd have tomorrow. The 'this can never happen again talk' and he had to honor that, in his mind he knew it was for the best. It didn't make it any easier though.

God, he just wanted her to be happy and he knew he could never keep her happy unless they cured this virus, but everyday that passed….

He sat back down and opened the file with the pictures. The first shot was one of Max alone, shortly after they arrived at the park, she was laughing telling him about Joshua being chased by this little terrier one of the transgenics had found. He smiled as he raised a finger up to touch the image and thought about how many hours he'd spent doing this exact same thing the summer before. He dropped his finger back down and pushed those memories aside, they lived in a different world now. Those days were in the past. He moved onto the next picture, the one of Max with a mouth full of food making a face at Cale, Logan Michael Cale III. He shook his head that was going to take some getting used to.

_"So I guess we need to come up with another name" _ _Logan__ said when they returned downstairs after cleaning Cale up. _

_Max gave him a look. _

_"What?" he asked dropping Cale down to the floor to play with the new toy Max had bought for him. _

_"He has a name" _

_"He needs a first name." _

_Max gave a knowing smile, "We named him after you Logan" _

_Logan frowned, he still thought that was weird, "He can't be Cale Cale or is he supposed to be just Cale like Madonna?" _

_"Logan your cousin heard me call him Cale, there's only one reason he'd be called by his last name." she explained slowly for him to understand. _

_His eyes grew serious, "I don't think so Max" _

_She laughed, "_ _Logan__ it's the only way." _

_"No one would ever believe I'd name my son after me." That was vain and egotistical, wanting to extend your own life through another…God, he'd hated being a Junior. _

_She laughed dropping to the floor in front of Cale; she looked up, "Sorry, you knew we named him after you months ago." _

_"Max" _

_"_ _Logan__" she looked up smiling. _

_"Ugh, you've got to be kidding." He said sitting down. _

_"Do you hate your name that much?" _

_"There were already two before me Max" _

_"It's _ _Logan__ Cale Jr. right?" _

_"My dad was named after his maternal grandfather, most people called my dad, Mike." _

_"Aww see look at how much history Cale gets instead of just those what 28 years back to Joshua." Max smiled still seeing Logan's frowning face, "You can kill anyone that calls him Junior?" _

Logan smiled shutting down the computer once more, had it been only a year ago that he'd spent hours staring at her final picture? He'd thought his life was over then, he had only reason to stay alive and that was to destroy those who had taken her away from him…He'd gotten her back though and so much more.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ugh" Logan groaned as Cale landed on his chest waking him up.

"Up Lo"

Max laughed from the doorway, "Yea up Lo, we're hungry."

Logan rubbed his eyes and gave a laughing frown at her as he took Cale into his arms, "Morning Buddy." He looked back over at her, "You know OC told me you can cook, your secret's out of the bag Max."

"Please like I'm gonna cook when I've got you here" she said with all of her normal Max only halfway joking attitude. "We're hungry. We've been waitin a half hour on you."

Logan's eyes rolled over to the clock, it was seven.

"Don't blame me, blame the kid. I've been holding off since 4."

He smiled coming more to life and out of his daze, albeit pleasantly nice daze of waking up to find Max with her normal joking attitude. "You hungry Cale" he said grabbing the little boy and swinging him up.

"Ungy" the little boy agreed once Logan settled him back onto his lap.

"Okay" Logan said pushing back the covers and getting out of bed, still holding his son. He realized his lack of thinking as the already warm and humid air contacted his flesh. He'd slept in boxers, probably not the best choice of wardrobe to make Max forget about his lack of control last night.

"You should probably get dressed; Cale and I do not want our breakfast delayed by you almost dying." She said it quickly within seconds of him standing, pushing aside the fact that Logan's body had grown more beautiful since the last time she'd seen it, but the fact that his body was now walking helped explain that. He was so physical now, which was saying a lot considering how hard he'd push himself while he was in the chair. She would not allow anything to make things awkward between them ever again though.

"Good idea" he said dropping Cale down to the floor.

"Cale let's leave Daddy alone to get dressed" Max said in the nurturing voice no one had known existed before Cale came into their lives. The boy rushed over and took the hand she'd extended. "You have five minutes" she said shooting a look over her shoulder to Logan.

He laughed as she shut the door.


	34. All Over the Place

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**Chapter Thirty Four**

_All Over the Place_

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"Oh you'd best explain to me what the hell was so god awful important you woke me at 6 on a Saturday." Original Cindy said rubbing her hands over her eyes.

"It was 6:50" Max said sitting on Cindy's bed after letting herself into their apartment, good thing she didn't need keys or Original Cindy would have been a hell of a lot crankier. Max had called her just before going into Logan's room and told her to call her cell in 45 minutes so she'd have a reason to escape the house without talking to Logan. She told him she'd be back by noon so she had until then to think of something to say that wouldn't cause any massive blowouts between them.

"Max do not start with the…" she waved her hand in the air unable to think of the word, she was pretty sure she hadn't sobered up all the way from last night thanks to Max's early wake up call.

"I think I had the equivalent of almost having sex with Logan." she said almost calmly, but unable to wait for her friend to continue with what she was saying.

Original Cindy's eyes widened and she pushed herself up.

"Can you say something?"

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I am not giving you the details…Just that it happened."

"How was it?"

"How do you think it was?" she snapped and stood.

"Either really good or really bad. Both would have you this upset. You waited too damn long for it not to be any good."

"It can't happen again" Max sighed and sat down.

"You know I have never met anyone more all over the place than you about Logan."

"I love him; we've had that part down for over a year." Max looked over with sad eyes.

"Yea the you love him, the virus is going to be cured, the you're going to kill him, you've got break his heart, the you love him again and are all over him, then boom you've decided no cure is coming and you run away again, next thing I know you two are all lovey dovey again, you're raising a kid together, still saying you're not together, and now you're telling me you had the equivalent of almost banging that gong, which I'm still not sure what that means…"

"It means that Zen came home early and the only thing we can do got interrupted."

"You or him? Who am I kidding," she waved a hand, "this is Logan definitely you. That boy's too damn nice for his own good." she said shaking her head.

"You know that part really isn't necessary to the story. And yesterday we ran into Logan's cousin, who heard me call Cale, "Cale" and yea….Guess what I apparently had a baby 19 months ago."

Original Cindy just looked up at Max stunned.

"That's actually the only part of last night that made sense."

"I need coffee" Original Cindy said pushing back the covers.

Max followed her out and continued as OC started the coffee, "So what am I supposed to do?"

"What do you want to have happen Max?"

"I want to be with Logan."

"Well there ya go."

"But I can't"

OC dumped an extra spoonful of coffee into the pot, she needed it with the way her girl was rambling on, "Explain."

"If we start this, we won't be able to stop, if we can manage to it'll destroy everything we have. I still have a shot right now of surviving without him, of being able to see him with someone else. I can't handle losing him again and we're so close right now. We're happy without the other stuff."

"So then how do you explain last night?"

"We let things get out of hand."

"And you didn't tell Logan you think that?"

"I don't know how."

"Max this is Logan, your Logan. You should try the truth, it may be rare in your relationship, but whenever you use it, it seems to work out pretty well."

Max sighed, she knew OC was right, just like she'd been right a year ago when she told her to step to the real. She moved on to other things before her friend killed her, "Have you seen what he did to that house?"

"Oooh I know" Cindy said relieved to be moving on.

"I cannot picture Logan being such a…" Max searched for the world.

"Handy man?" Cindy offered, "I don't know, boy fixed this sink…A hell of a lot better than you I might add."

Max looked over at the kitchen sink, which she'd used to have to repair every month, she hadn't touched it in the whole time she'd been home; " Logan fixed the sink?"

"Didn't know who else to call."

Max thought for a moment, she always tried to avoid thinking of that summer, hearing Logan telling her how he'd just sat for days after she 'died' had been almost too much for her to bear. "I didn't even realize…"

"That I spent time with Logan?" OC shook her head, "Boo, I barely knew the guy before you left."

Max realized Original Cindy was right, they'd spent some time together before, but not much, they had seemed a lot more familiar with each other when she thought about it.

"I saw him a few times when you were gone." Original Cindy shrugged, suddenly remembering that summer without Max.

Max suddenly swallowed hard, thinking about Logan's words…

_"I wouldn't wish losing the person you love on anyone, not even White…I didn't think I would ever get over losing you…I probably never would have." _

"Come on Sug" Cindy said calling her out of her daze, "That's all over…You're home. No more grieving."

"I know" Max said shaking her head and letting out a small smile.

-o-o-o-o-o-

She pulled up in the clunker of a car that Logan had found to replace Bessie for the time being. Logan was on the porch with Cale and Alec blowing bubbles.

"Okay first you guys in the pool together and now bubbles?" Max said climbing the stairs to them.

"You know that's your word over ours Max" Alec said blowing bubbles over the boy's head.

Max shook her head, not even bothering to fight back with him.

"What's new with Original Cindy?" Logan asked holding out the wand for Cale to blow, well blow/spit at.

"Nothing, she knew I was out and wanted some girl time."

"Really? I saw her last night….Didn't think she was going to be up before noon." Alec said

_Trust Alec,_ she cursed, "Well she was…Why are you here?"

" Logan's trying to set me up with a new job. Came by to see how he's doing with that."

"Ugh" she made a face thinking of trying to find a new job, "Let's not mention that word yet. You finally get tired stealing from Seattle's underbelly?"

"I was only doing that to repay Logan, didn't think the poor guy should go broke feeding us. Anyway, you helped on more than a few occasions."

Max laughed, she and Alec had certainly helped the cops bring down the crime level in the city.

"When you guys are done, I'll be inside getting a drink." Logan said

They both turned their heads upwards to see Logan standing with Cale.

"I could use a drink" they both said at the same time and then glared at each other.

Logan shook his head and walked inside.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Alec of course stayed for lunch, despite all of Max's none too subtle hints that he should really be heading back to Terminal City.

Logan walked back downstairs after putting Cale down to find Max pacing the floor, the same floor where last night…He shook his head to get that memory out of his head.

" Logan" she began and didn't know where to go from there, her well planned words forgotten.

"Let me guess…That" he said dropping his eyes to the floor, "Can't happen again." he said calmly. Max frowned and made Logan wonder if he'd gotten it all wrong, "Max? Is that not what you were going to say?"

"No" she said shaking her head, "It was."

"So why are you looking at me like that?"

"I had a speech." she smiled like an idiot, "I even thought I knew where you'd interrupt."

"Yea I think I had that talk with myself last night."

"It's just that once we…"

"We wouldn't be able to stop" he nodded.

"So I left this house before 8am to go talk to OC for no reason?"

Logan smiled, "Sorry"

"Everything's okay between us?"

"It's more than okay Max."

"You"

He shook his head, "Max" he gave her a look to drop it, that everything really was fine.

"What kind of job are you trying to find Alec?" she asked, moving on as he asked.

"Construction for him and Zen, I almost have all the documents they need."

"If you feel like making a few more…."

"I did yours months ago. You don't need to rush out and find a job; I'd" He was stopped by a look, "Or if you want some help looking…"

Max smiled, "I think I'm just going to try a witnessing job, if you can get me a sector pass."

Logan suddenly had visions of Max purposely dumping people's food and drinks on them.

"Money's better than any other job if you can survive the comments and leers, luckily I'm quick enough to avoid the hands…Being a messenger is better, more freedom, less people, but seriously lackin the green"

"You know if you really want to be a waitress, I think Eyes Only may have a job for you…"

-o-o-o-o-o-

She headed up to her room to change once she'd gotten back to TC. Once again in clean clothes she went to unpack her bag and took out the single picture she'd printed off of Logan's computer this morning, right after she'd gone through his files and saw that he had no new information leading to a cure on his computer, leaving her hope still dead and her decision to make that much clearer. She'd taken the picture standing over Logan as Cale rested on his chest after lunch; she loved how they looked together. Better than any dream she'd had of them physically having a child together.

She sat down next to Cale on the floor and scooped the little boy into her lap, he giggled a bit, "I love you" she whispered as she tickled him slightly. She meant the words, she'd said them to him hundreds of times before, she could say the words easily to him, like she could say them to OC or Josh. It was different with him though, almost reminding her of what she felt for Logan, different though, but not any less powerful. "I'm gonna try really hard not to screw this up, I'm always gonna keep you safe, I promise you." she said kissing the blonde hair.

She shifted him in her arms so she could show him the picture, "Do you know who that is?" she pointed at Logan, "It's your Daddy" she said further trying to acclimate him to the word. They'd agreed not to push Cale, to let him change over naturally, but Max couldn't help herself.

"Lo?" he said looking up at her.

"Yea, Lo's your daddy and I'm your mommy." _Mommy, _god she loved how that sounded.

His attention returned to the picture, his hands grabbed at it, "Lo."

Max laughed at herself, reminding herself that he was still only around 19 months. "We need to pick you a birthday" she said kissing the top of his head and allowed him to crawl off her lap and return to his toys.

She stood and wondered who that man was in the picture, the man she had just left. That wasn't the guy who had walked into Crash looking for her, wasn't the guy that continuously pushed her away, he wasn't the guy she came home to. It was like Logan Cale had finally been set free of his demons. Every single thing that had happened between them since coming to Terminal City played out like a romance novel or a cheesy movie; his words always supported and loved her. She was meanwhile still running away like normal….She thought about it for a few and wondered when she had become such a female. Logan was the total stereotypical man in this situation….She thought about it for a bit longer, trying to place when exactly Logan had started running her life…Or when her life had started revolving around him.

Her life revolving around him had definitely started awhile ago…_God that's pathetic_, she thought to herself. She started thinking back to when exactly she'd started being a girl in all of the bad ways.

Maybe it was after Zack, not that choosing Logan over Zack had been in any way a bad decision, it had been the only one to be made, the only one to keep them both safe. Logan though had been the one to contact Syl afterwards and tell her what had happened; Max could have never told her sibs what she had done. Then somewhere in the first few days of the siege she'd realized that Zack would figure out what he was and most likely come to town again. Logan had calmly explained that once White exposed them in DC that he and Krit had decided that Zack needed to be watched and Zane instead of Krit or Syl had gone to further limit any chance of Zack remembering her and that they had been off the farm for weeks traveling.

He had been the one to find their major suppliers, then found the safe route in for all of their supplies and as Alec had pointed out, he'd also paid for them until they had repaid him, which he had never even asked. He helped come up with the mission to modify the heat sensors on the hoverdrones and then hid the truth from her until she stumbled on it herself. She allowed him to get away with it even though she knew it was a completely foolish idea, they could have screwed up everything. And now to top it all off after he first offered to give her money to live, he then hand picked a job for her. Sure he'd said it was an Eyes Only thing, he needed someone in 'Tony's' for a few months to get info on the players there, but the point was he picked her job and he had everything all waiting for her to start a new life. She was in charge of none of it, she just willingly went along.

She was the pathetic female, she realized fuming even angrier because she was heading out her door with Cale in her arms to be dropped off at Joshua's before she went to Gem and Dalton's room. God he'd driven her to two girl talks today…She'd already talked more today than she would have in a week.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"So wait let me get this straight….You're mad because he agreed with you and found you a job?" Gem said putting the baby down in the stroller.

Max paused, _Okay well when it's put like that…_"It's more than that, I used to run my own life."

Alec laughed from the doorway where he'd just listened to Max's totally out of the ordinary rant, "Max no one's running your life, but you."

"Alec" she said glaring

He smiled, this was great it was like being in one of those high school tv dramas, first Max and Logan hook up, then Max runs to Cindy confesses all, the truth was pried out of Logan by him, then Logan and Max talk, Max apparently didn't like what she heard, ran to Gem and now he got to clear it all up. _Oh jesus I need to get out of Terminal_ _City_he thought shaking his head… "He helped out Max….Everyone helped out. He got me and Zen jobs too and you don't hear us complaining. It's who he is Max." he'd almost come to terms with what a stand up guy Logan was, still made him slightly nauseous, but he accepted the fact that it wasn't going to change. "Why the hell are you so mad at him?"

"I'm not mad at Logan."

"You sure about that?" Gem asked

Max frowned.

"Max, you made up the rules between you and Logan, stop being mad when he follows them."

Max frowned again, she hadn't told Gem what had happened, just that something had happened and when she'd tried to talk to him today and all he did was yes her to death, "Logan told you."

"In his defense, I'm very observant. That and Zen was still there when I arrived. Logan kept muttering something about a slippery slope. Max, you want the boy to die, he'll die and trust me he'd go out with a smile on his face."

She froze once more remembering Logan's words, '_I wouldn't wish losing the person you love on anyone_.' "Alec, you're disgusting." she said half-heartedly.

"Yea Max and I'm also one of two in Terminal City who knows what it's like to have the person you love die, add Logan to the mix and it's three. Me, Josh and Logan, we're the only ones who know that there's barely a reason to go on afterwards."

Max swallowed hard, remembering Bling's voice, that long ride back to the city before she'd even realized she loved Logan mostly because she didn't know what love was, remembered seeing him lying there, being told that Sam was sorry and to basically say goodbye, the pain that coursed through her, _slow and agonizing. _"Trust me" she said with a small smile, "I've been close enough before."

"He doesn't want to do that to you again Max, you guys have too much now to lose." He envied them, he knew more than a few others did too and was pretty sure given time to forget everything they'd be taught most of the others would.

Max nodded, they were even more of a family now than all the other times they'd almost been torn apart, if anything happened to Logan now, she wouldn't be the only one who would be lost.

"So did Gem tell you she's moving in with Normal?" Alec said, unable to stand the mood that had engulfed the room.

"You're kidding?"

"It's not like that." Gem said shaking her head, "He has a basement apartment."

"Gem's also taking over our old jobs and Ronnie's gonna be babysat by Unckie Normie."

"Come on Ray is just trying to help out; you guys could cut him some slack you know."

"Ray?" Max said turning to Alec, "What the hell has been going on here when he comes over to visit?"

"I don't know; think we should get a little chastity belt for our little girl here?" Alec said draping his arm over Gem, "I don't know if I'm ready for a little Normal."

"We're just friends" she honestly defended shaking her head, "He's even getting along with Dalton."

"Eww you and Normal" Max said shaking her head, someone should have mentioned that last night, would have stopped her and Logan right in their tracks.

"It's not like that!" Gem defended once more.


	35. Times of Peace

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**Chapter Thirty Five**

_Times of Peace _

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Max Voiceover (Early Evening-TC rooftop):

The peace has returned. The acceptance of what Logan and I are. It's not a horrible thing to accept, the fact that we're almost exactly the family I had dreamed we could become in Manticore. We just kinda missed one of the really fun steps.

Various people are packing up now, the talks aren't totally concluded, they probably never will be, but with the sensors gone it's safe for us to leave. Some are staying here forever, the government and Seattle have conceded that we might as well have this land since no one else will be able to use it for decades, not to mention they like having us sectioned off. Many are just staying here for the time being, trying to figure out what step they should take next. Others are venturing out past Seattle where it's safer to settle, a few are going back to their old haunts here. People like me and Alec.

Asha's been crashing at Alec's for months and for the moment they've decided to coexist, though Alec swears that's not happening for long and he's not enough of a gentleman to find a new place. Who knows maybe she'll finally give it up to him, especially since she knows she's not getting it from Logan.

_Logan_

Don't really know what to think about him anymore…Maybe it's because I think too much about him. Love of my life, who I don't get to be with. My best friend, though I'd never admit that to anyone, for the single fact it would break my girl's heart. Father of my son, after two weeks that still sounds weird, yet so incredibly right. Still unsure of how exactly that happened, how we went from barely speaking to each other to raising a little boy together in a matter of months.

Logan Cale, the only guy who would find out my birthday even though I was dead. They threw a party at Crash so everyone from Jam Pony could go, though Logan made sure I had birthday cake with Joshua when we got back to Terminal City.

_He was smiling at her, knowing like Alec and the other transgenics that were there that it had taken everything in her power to not get into a fighting stance when screams of 'surprise' hit her as she walked down the stairs with Original Cindy. He'd waited for the hugs to stop, just standing back watching her hate being the center of attention, until he started walking towards her, a hand hidden behind his back._

_He saw her eyes focused on his missing hand "It's not a new carburetor, so don't get your hopes up that much."_

_She fake pouted, "Darn it." Then smiled "Jewelry?" She kept smiling, she liked this trip down memory lane._

_He smiled even brighter "Kind of" then he pulled out this totally adorably cheesy silver cardboard tiara with hot pink tinsel as trim and Happy Birthday written across it in matching script. He put it on her and smiled at the sight she was creating, knowing she'd groan looking at the pictures later._

_"Oh my god, I loved those things when I was little" Cindy exclained walking up to them_

_Max put a hand on her head, "You guys just like making me look like an idiot."_

_"Damn _ _Logan__ she found out our secret. Your hair ain't changin anytime soon, so get over it boo."_

That tiara rests in a box in my room, all packed and ready to be go. He did give me jewelry that day, tucked into the box of every single bath product he could find in the city, knowing that I hadn't had a real soak in the entire time we'd been here and that was the first place I was heading once I was out of here. His mother's locket was tucked inside with a picture of Cale in it, the words 'Be careful' etched into the back. I added another picture to the other side, one of Logan and Cale to remind myself of every reason there was to be careful. _I never had so much to lose._

I start a new job tomorrow night, I'm a waitress. I've done the job before on a few occasions, I've had quite a few jobs in my time. It's not for long, just until we figure out where we stand with the Familiars, figure out what the hell exactly this shroud of death is. It's something to do with the snake bite, we think, since most people would die from it, but we aren't positive . We also don't know if this going to be a natural occurrence or something they're planning, which is kinda worrisome since I'm supposed to be the one stopping it.

The world just seems so in order at the moment, the chaos that has been our lives for a year has faded for the moment.

-o-o-o-

The door opens, "Max," Logan's voice calls out.

"Mama" Cale holds out his arms, he'd picked up the new words in a matter of days.

_Logan went to go hand an almost asleep Cale into Alec's arms as he and Max were going to check on something, but the little hands held tighter on the blue shirt, "Dada" he cried instead of his usual "Lo" as Alec's hands tried to clasp the little body away from _ _Logan__. Cale had found yet another successful way of wrapping his father around his finger. _

"Hey, you guys get my stuff all loaded?" Smiling she meets Logan halfway and takes their son into her arms.

"You really were hiding" he asks slightly surprised

"Knew you men had it taken care of." she grins, "Did you help your daddy?" she kisses the top of Cale's head.

"If by help you mean lighten our load, yea he did."

Max grimaces and tries to think of what could be broken.

Logan suplies the answer, "The picture frame Cindy gave you."

Max pouts thinking of the purple frame she'd been given shortly after moving into Terminal City so she wouldn't forget Original Cindy…As if anyone could ever forget her. "Good thing I'm moving back in with the original instead of the imitation."

"Just make sure when she notices it missing you tell her it wasn't me."

Max smiles, "I'll just tell her it was Alec." Her eyes twinkle as Logan shakes his head, "What, we don't have a tv in our place, I need the entertainment."

"You ready to go?" He gestures back to the door with his head.

"I guess so"

He smiles and holds out his hand.

She transfers Cale entirely over to her hip, freeing her other hand to take Logan's and heads back out into the real world.


	36. Life On The Outside

**Babyangel:** no more Embedded and Oblivious, you're like one of two who read that story and I think my other review might have been a pity one. Thank you for reading though.

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**Chapter 36**

_Life on the Outside_

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"Hey Logan" Max called out walking into his house with Original Cindy. 

No response.

"Logan?"

"I don't think he's here boo."

"What time is it?" She asked not bothering to look through her own bag for her cell.

Cindy looked down at her beeper, "11:57...We're early. Boy probably realized he forgot something."

Max frowned, that didn't make any sense, everyone was bringing something and it wasn't like Logan to run out when he knew a house full of people were coming. She shook her head, she'd give him ten minutes before she over thought this.

Original Cindy shrugged off the backpack she'd been wearing, packed with their contribution to 'the first week of work is over' barbeque. "I'm gonna go drop this in the kitchen."

Max frowned as she walked into the living room and flopped on the couch, sure everyone else's week was over, after a whole three days of working (the benefits of only moving out on a Tuesday). Hers however wasn't. She frowned once more thinking of that tiny little skirt that was her weekend attire and even worse she had been on last night and was on again tonight because she was the new girl. If she hadn't cleared so much dough last night, she would have quit on the spot, Eyes Only and Logan be damned.

"Yo Logan" Zen called out opening the door. "Hey OC" he nodded seeing her on her way back from the kitchen.

"Hey Cyn" Vida said walking in behind Zen. Logan's former housemate had been found a new place of residence courtesy of Logan because as much as Logan liked Vida, he wasn't living with a couple.

"Hey guys, Max is in the living room."

Just then Max walked over to the doorway, "Do you guys know where Logan is?"

"He's not here?" Zen asked confused, "I just talked to him like 30-40 minutes ago."

Another frown passed Max's face.

"Hey guys" Gem smiled walking in through the still open door carrying Ronnie, Dalton next to her, his arms full of food.

"Hey" they all called out in unison.

Gem looked around, "Where's Logan?"

"That seems to be the question of the day." Original Cindy spoke, "Maybe he's mad that ya'll decided to throw a party at his joint without asking him."

"Hey I helped build that bbq." Zen defended.

"Trust me Logan's use to having his privacy invaded." Max said with a tilt of her head, _that definitely wasn't the reason._

They all turned as they heard a car approach out front. They all piled onto the porch to see Logan getting out of his car and Alec's bike pulling up behind it.

Logan's eyes connected with Max's over the car as he went to open to back door to get Cale out, he briefly closed them and shook his head.

She frowned and headed down the stairs suddenly seeing the reason for Logan's frown, there were bags, pillows and blankets in his car, on the front seat rested the large tv from Alec's apartment.

"Haha, she kicked you out" Max said passing by Alec on her way to Cale.

"You know" Alec said with a shake of his head, "All the time you girls talk about us being dogs, scum, pigs…" his mind searched for more

"Neanderthals?" Logan supplied, it had been Asha's parting shot. "Hey" he said to Max as he stepped to the side to let her get the already unfastened Cale out since he wasn't wearing gloves yet.

"Hey yourself" she said to him and then turned down to Cale, "Hey buddy" she smiled

"Mama" the little looked up, smiled and extended his arms to be lifted, more than pleased to see her face again after almost 20 hours.

Alec ignored their hellos and continued on, "Ugh Neanderthal, me of all people a Neanderthal!" he said controlling himself enough to not reveal his Manticore roots to any neighbors that might overhear.

Max bit her tongue, _definitely not the time to piss him off further._

"But you know what?" He looked at Max, "You woman are all INSANE!"

"Alec, you were living together for less than four days." Max said wondering what the hell could have driven him to this and the brown stains she saw streaking his arms, _and what was that, flour in his hair? _She looked at the white streaks on the side of his head and wondered how much there must have been to start off since he hadn't wore a helmet over.

"Like I said, you're all insane." he said lifting his tv into his arms and starting to head up the stairs, glaring at everyone awaiting them on the porch. Max followed with Cale and Logan lifted a few of the bags, Zen chuckled slightly as he and Vida made their way down to help.

"Alec, what the hell happened?" Max asked as she passed Cindy, who was like everyone else trying to stifle her laughter.

"I have no idea!" he said looking up at her as he put the tv on the living room floor. "None" he said raising his hands. "I thought things were good."

"That means the boy had sex." Original Cindy supplied.

"Yes, yes we did" "Alec said nodding at her, "and that was good too." _damn freakin females!_

"Uh Dalton, why don't you go drop off the food in the kitchen and see if one of the guys will play some ball with you." Gem said ever aware of her younger companion.

"Okay so you and Asha finally get it on, then what?" Cindy said returning to the topic.

"What do you mean then what? Everything was fine, it was normal. 2 days and everything's fine, until this morning and…" He shook his head.

"Come on Alec, you've got to have some idea" Max said

"Everything was fine."

"No Alec obviously it wasn't."

"This is all your fault" Alec said glaring at Logan walking up behind them.

Logan just looked confused, "I just drove across town to go pick your stuff up."

"She's your friend and everything was fine until we were getting ready to come here. Ugh" Alec groaned and took off to go get more of his things. _That was his freakin apartment._

The women all turned to Logan waiting to see if he'd supply any answers, "I have no idea, I got there and there was brownie mix all the way out to the living room. Asha was making just about as much sense as he was."

Max's face fell, "Aww damn they were making brownies…What the hell did that boy do?"

* * *

Max smiled taking a bite of her hot dog looking around the backyard. A few more people had shown up, they'd even invited Sketchy. Looking around you wouldn't be able to tell the world they lived in. It just looked like one of those family barbeques they had on old reruns. Cindy manning the grill at the moment, a job that was being passed along; Alec sitting on a law chair drinking a beer, talking to Cassia as if this morning had never happened. Gem was chillin in the plastic pool they'd refused to leave behind at TC, Ronnie sitting up while being supported by her mother. Sketch with his long scrawny not as white as they normally were legs stretched across the pool floating something across the water trying to win over Cale's affection after scaring him earlier making a not so funny face. Logan was talking something Eyes Only over in the house with Zen. She frowned it was a shame Joshua couldn't be here, but he wasn't ready and neither were the neighbors.

* * *

Max made her way inside of the house with the sleeping toddler in her arms, a half an hour past his naptime. She made her way in through the kitchen past the booster seat attached to one of the chairs and the cabinets that now required thought to open. Past the living room, which had toys off in the corner and a black streak on the wall from where Cale had gotten a hold of a marker. She made her way up the stairs, not bothering to unhook the safety gate she stepped over it and walked down to the room across from Logan's, which he was in right now talking on the phone away from anyone being able to overhear. 

She walked into Logan Cale's concession to a kid's room, the walls hadn't changed to some bright primary color, a toddler sized wooden bed had replaced the full-sized mattress she had slept on a few weeks back. A toy box sat in the corner, though she was pretty sure most of the toys were on the floor in front of it. The sheets were dinosaur print, as was the throw rug in front of the toy box, and a very friendly looking blue dino was the nightlight plugged in by the door.

Cale's presence in short was pretty well evident in the house. Less though than in her own apartment, where toys and clothes and sippy cups, which had been under control in Terminal City had managed to overrun their apartment. Original Cindy said it was just a settling period, Max hoped she was right because crawling on the floor trying to find where Cale had lost his binky as he was crying for it, wasn't something she looked forward to doing until she broke him of the habit.

Still holding him, she pulled back the dinosaur print sheet before lowering him to the bed and tucking him in, placing a kiss on the top of his head before stepping back. She didn't want to leave the room yet though, she had been in Cale withdrawal since coming out into the real world again, she hadn't realized how used she was to spending so much time with him, even when he wasn't with her, knowing he was just a short walk away…Not to mention going to sleep without hearing his tiny little breaths. She'd almost riden to Logan's last night after work because she hadn't slept the Wednesday before without him. She walked forward again and squatted down to brush back his hair, though it was already neat. She was pretty sure that she missed him more than she missed being around Logan constantly, she'd at least been used to that in the past. Logan had been right, there was no way she would have been able to walk away from Cale.

She could feel Logan watching them from the doorway, she turned and smiled.

He smiled back then walked into the room and started picking up the toys that had been left out in an attempt to get to Alec's and back before everyone showed up. "Everyone looks like they're having fun."

"Have you been watching from a window?" Max teased, he'd been in and out of the house the entire time.

"I was outside for at least an hour." he defended himself, _Eyes Only wasn't totally taking over his life again._

"Uh huh" she smiled some more, "It looks like one of those family sitcoms out there. Makes you wanna say White who?"

Logan chuckled, "Fraid not Max, I actually think I might have made some progress on that."

"Is that what you've been doing all day?"

He looked guilty for a moment, "Actually no, Zen and I were discussing some other matters. But I've got a mom who lost her oldest son to the initiation process and her youngest son is up in a few months."

Max wondered why she was surprised, she'd known Logan had been following a few leads regarding the familiars, but none of them had been panning out, "You sure you can get her to talk?"

He nodded, "Doesn't seem like a setup and she seems ready….But, I guess we'll find out in a few hours when Alec goes to pick her up."

Max forced her face to show no outward signs of rejection, Zen and Alec had become his go to men, all she was doing was getting dirt on a few scummy guys. "You know, I could"

He shook his head, "You've got work, it should be fine, don't want you getting fired on your third day. Think Original Cindy can watch Cale though? I'll drop him off before I head to the safe house? I don't know what time I'll be getting back here and taking him all the way to Terminal City..." He didn't want to have to leave Cale alone in Terminal City at night even if he was with Joshua or go pick him up in the middle of the night when he got back.

Max's mood raised a little with the thought of at least coming home to Cale, "Yea, she said earlier she was just crashin tonight…Too much sun or something. So how are we sure this isn't a set up?"

Logan sighed, years of meeting informants told him this would be fine, but with the familiars… "I guess we'll find out pretty soon." He saw the look of concern pass her face, "It'll be fine Max. Alec knows if he sees anything out of the ordinary when picking her up to abort. Should go fine, hopefully we'll finally figure out what the hell it is we're up against."

"That would be a nice change."

There was a loud bang outside, followed by group laughter, "Come on" he said with a nod of his head to the door, "Let's get back out there before they bring the cops here."

She looked back to Cale, "What about"

"The baby monitor is downstairs on the desk, we'll grab it before we head out."


	37. Resounding Silence

**Babyangel:** There were two reviews when I wrote the last chapter, you're right two others have asked for another chapter. So I will keep it in mind, but I don't know where I would take the story, I need endings in my mind before I start something and so far all I have is a chapter.

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**Chapter 37**

_Resounding Silence_

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Logan glanced around as he walked out of the safe house, making sure he saw nothing out of the ordinary as he headed to his car. It was almost midnight, he had a decent drive home, despite the hour because of the checkpoints. At least this had been successful, they finally had something to work with. The snake bite indicated whether or not you'd survive a comet that was going to be passing by and had passed by thousands of years earlier. A comet that had wiped out most of the Earth, but the familiars had survived unscathed and they were looking forward to the Earth's population being depleted again. They hadn't accounted for Sandeman though and his creating immunity in the transgenics and Logan was pretty sure that whatever they needed to save the world was hidden inside of Max. 

He pushed aside the fear that whatever they needed to pull out of her would prove deadly to him, he had to have faith in Joshua. That even if they couldn't pull away the virus from whatever antibodies were inside of her that any cure they created for this would still be effective once Joshua's blood had run through him.

He gave a final glance up to the dilapidated gray house and admired the woman's whose courage and love for her son was making this possible. Walking away from everything you know to protect another, turning on the familiars; she'd put her faith in him to keep her safe, he just hoped he wasn't lying when he had promised her. He trusted Alec to keep her safe, he had faith for at least tonight they would be fine, he just hoped that the bus ride would go as smoothly as her pick up. He made a mental note to go to Terminal City tomorrow and see if anyone wanted to accompany her over the border to Canada, he was pretty sure he'd get more than a few volunteers for the job. Canada had become the promised land to many transgenics that it was to many ordinaries.

He sighed as he sat in the car and realized he was going home to an empty house. He really had thought when this first began that he would never take any alone time for granted and here he was wishing he was going back to a noisy house. At the start of the siege Max had kept two to three transgenics with him every night, it had taken almost seven weeks for that to drop down to only Zen, with an occasional stay over by someone who was doing something in the city or Vida for Zen's sake.

Living with Zen had reminded him of his time in college before the pulse, minus the fact that he was neither noisy nor sloppy.

He probably would have been fine in that silent house if there was still a reason to go to Terminal City everyday, spend his days with Max and Cale. That was over though, his time with Max was limited and his time with Cale though same in quantity for the week, now had longer stretches without seeing him. Though now he did have the somewhat jarring at first experience of Cale bounding into his bed in the mornings when he woke and Logan doubted that was going to change unless he learned to wake up earlier, which he doubted.

He didn't mind things like that though, he didn't mind the marker on the wall, the constant clean up, the work being put on hold. He minded the resounding silence that had echoed in the house on Thursday when Cale had been with Max at her apartment, the silence that awaited him now.

Logan shook his head, he was actually thankful that Alec had moved in, he was pretty sure that would leave in a week. Maybe then he'd be able to appreciate the silence once more. He'd been a loner right? He'd been proud of it. He wondered if he really counted as a loner since he had been in constant contact with people, through email, phone calls, meetings. He shook his head, pointless to think of these things now, they didn't change the two facts. He was happy Alec was living with him, which scared him and he didn't want to go home to an empty house. Not yet at least.

He realized he had started driving towards Max's job then realized that was a stupid idea. Not to mention he wasn't dressed for it, he was in windbreakers and a tee shirt, not to mention the noisy exo underneath. He readjusted his course, headed back towards the house.

So he walked into the eerily quiet house, turned on his computer out of habit and sat down and tried to check his new messages before he finally pushed the chair back out of boredom.

He headed upstairs to get out of the exo, he stripped down and then found himself standing in front of the closet, a pair of black slacks in his hand. He was about to throw them onto his bed as he went to find a shirt, something blue…

He shook his head and shoved the pants back into the closet with a little more force than necessary. He had to get used to the silence again, he had to get used to not being with Max constantly, hadn't they gone down this path before and it had led to months of barely speaking to get over it?

He headed back downstairs to grab his phone off the desk, he hit in her number and waited for the voicemail to pick up. "Hey, it's me. I just wanted to let you know everything when fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He headed back upstairs, he'd take a shower and then go to bed…

Yea that idea was about as appealing as sitting in front of the computer. Once more he was in front of his closet, this time a tan button down in hand and grabbed a pair of jeans out of his dresser. Zen and Vida would be out, probably with Cassia and a few others at the bar by their apartment, even more of a dive than Crash. It would have to do though, he had no desire to stay in with everyone else out. He laughed to himself thinking of all the nights Max had tried talking him into going out to Crash that first year…

* * *

"Hey Max" he said picking up the phone, a finger over the left ear trying to hear her.

"Where are you?" she asked, it was past one.

"I'm at the Cellar, the bar by Zen's apartment." he said making his way to the door, so he could get outside and hear her.

"It's one fifteen."

He laughed walking outside, "It's a Saturday Max."

Max frowned into the phone, Logan Cale didn't understand weekends and stopping work, "So what did you find out?"

Logan looked around and saw a few stragglers outside, he was pretty sure talking about a comet coming and killing people would sound a little strange, "I'll tell you tomorrow Max, now's not really the time."

"Okay, then I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow." She hung up before he could say goodbye.

"Max?" he said into the phone before looking down at it. He debated calling her back, but in the end decided to slip his phone back into his pocket and headed back inside of the bar.

* * *

**AN: Yea okay I'm lazy I don't feel like finding the dvd that talks about all this stuff, nor do I feel like listening to an hour of commentary to get the specific details. So things might be kinda off, sorry. Thanks for reading.**


	38. Independence Day

**AN: Okay this is part new chapter and part old, so hopefully it blends together and with everything else. Feel free to scream if you think things are getting choppy or whatnot, I haven't been on nicely laid out plans in awhile and I'm not really going back to them, so it's probably gonna happen (or has and you haven't shared). Thanks for reading!**

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**Chapter 38**

_Independence Day_

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It was Freak Nation Independence Day, a celebration of the day Manticore had fallen. It was also a reason for a whole bunch of transgenics to get really drunk and rowdy. She headed up towards the roof, looking for to escape the insanity of tonight and the past few days. It felt as if more had happened in a few days than had happened all throughout the siege. 

Logan had found someone to finally provide answers, there was an immunity that could be passed along to others, save the world from Armageddon and it was in her blood. Though when that Armageddon was actually going to occur still wasn't clear, the woman had guessed it was going to be soon, Max was inclined to agree with her since the Runes had shown up this year out of all others, but they had stopped and they hadn't provided any clear answers. Logan suggested more might show up once they got closer to the date, so it was a wait and see game, but they weren't leaving this to Sandeman. Max thanked god her people were such fast learners because Sandeman's, lab which had been slowly put back together was in full use suddenly and others were studying sky charts from as far back as they went, trying to piece together from what Isabelle knew to when exactly the comet was supposed to pass by again.

She shook her head hearing the music and laughter even though she was at the top of the stairwell and pushed open the door to see Logan standing there.

He turned at the sound of the door. "It's getting a little crazy down there." He said seeing her expression and knowing his own reason for taking a breather.

"I don't understand how they're celebrating today." she said walking over.

"It's the day you set them free Max" he said with a smile

"Yea set them free into a world that hates them."

Logan shrugged his shoulders, "Still a good day." he turns to Max, "A year since you did your whole Lazarus thing."

She nodded thinking back to that day, seeing Logan's back as he sat in front of his computer. She had stood there unable to speak just seeing his shaggy blond hair, the blue sleeveless shirt, the dark jeans. She had watched as he turned and looked at her in confusion, heard her name pass his lips, felt his hands cup her face, pressed her lips together with his and wondered how she ever got so lucky. "I really thought we'd beat it." her small voice said, she didn't need to further explain, it was finally time to say the words aloud to him.

He looked away and nodded, he swallowed hard "Me too" he shook his head, trying to be positive "We still might."

She laughed "A year Logan. Anyone that's still left alive is in Siberia."

He turned and grinned "I know some people there."

She laughed despite herself.

"The year really didn't turn out too poorly. I mean we're both still alive, I mean the odds of that happening were probably worse than us finding a cure for the virus."

Once more she laughed, what else could she do, it was laugh or cry.

He turned to her "And we have Cale."

She turned to him and smiled "And you have a reputation as a pedophile."

He groaned, "I never should have told Bennett your age."

She patted his back in sympathy and in a joking voice, "Well in your defense you weren't aware that you had gotten me knocked up and I'd had your kid when you told him that."

He smiled "All I thought was I was in a wheelchair, yet I still had the hottest date to his wedding and I wanted to rub it in his face."

"Yea well that bit ya in the ass didn't it. Took advantage of poor innocent 18 year old me, didn't have the decency to use protection, then you don't marry me and you hide it from your family until they stumbled across the truth…Geez good thing Ol' Uncle Jonas isn't around to hear that." she smiled at the end.

"Yea" he shook his head "I'm never going to outlive this one."

"Not a chance in hell"

He turned back to her "Still not a bad year. Not a bad anniversary" he smiled "If you forget about me being covered in hives and almost dying before your eyes."

She laughed "Yea those 30 seconds before Alec showed up. They were a good 30 seconds."

He nodded "A lot of the stuff that came after, it hasn't been half bad."

Max smiled thinking of everyone down below living life for the very first time. Being there to watch Cale discover the world along with Logan and all the new memories they'd formed this year, memories that wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't escaped. "Yea maybe not, but just so you know we aren't doing a 'Yay I almost killed you a year ago February 7th'"

Logan laughed, causing his head to dip down "You got it" he said titling his head to look at her. "Only one almost killing me anniversary a year."

She nodded "Good, I should probably get back downstairs."

He nodded then looked at his watch, it was way past Cale's bedtime, "It's getting pretty late, I think I'm going to find Josh and take Cale back home."

"He's asleep in Ronnie's stroller."

"He's sleeping with all that noise?"

"He's had a long day…The kid's pooped." she said with a smile.

He smiled softly looking down at her face, the noises of the city below them, "Definitely a good day to celebrate" he said brushing a hand along her cheek.

She nodded again still looking up into his eyes thankful she'd made it back to him.


	39. Acting On My Words

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**Chapter Thirty Nine**

_Acting On My Words_

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Max Voiceover-

Original Cindy kept warning me that one day I'd have to act on my words. I'd have to move on…**I'd have to let Logan move on**. She sat in Crash pointing out guys she thought I would think were cute. She'd even dragged me to a new club last week to celebrate my first Saturday free. She refused to allow me to stay home curled up in my pajamas with Cale, she called me pathetic and then she called Logan to come get Cale.

I tried, I mean I honestly did…Okay that's a lie, I pretended. I danced, I talked, I gave them the wrong number. Still I was a hell of a lot nicer to them than I would have been in the past.

I always knew this day was coming, I just never thought it would be today…

Original Cindy and I decided to meet up for an early dinner right after work, there was a diner right by Alec's job that he kept going on and on about, which meant one of two things, someone really hot worked there or the food was bangin', either worked for OC so we decided to check it out…That's when all my words came back to bite me in the ass.

* * *

Max already looked the part for work, her hair was straightened, the blonde hair curled slightly at the bottom where it grazed her shoulders, soft eye shadow rested above her eyes. She was in jeans and a light blue tank though, her uniform still resting on her bed to just throw on when she got back. She was still the girly girl she hated being as she walked along the street pushing Cale's stroller, the little boy happily people watching as Cindy walked alongside them pushing her bike bitchin about her day. 

"Ooh I think this is it" OC said as they approached the half-curtained window, she strained her eyes up to see the sign.

Max's eyes were drawn inside though, to the three blonde heads sitting at the counter, Alec, Zen and Logan. They were an interesting trio, all truly blondes now from the long summer, probably 3 inches of height difference between them, all light eyes, hazel, blue and green, yet they were as different as night and day. Once her brief second of thinking of them had passed, the smile still remaining on her lips, she noticed the waitress. A cute girl, 25 maybe, light brown hair, blue eyes unless the light was playing tricks on Max's own, around her height, fair skin, nothing amazing just an overall cute girl. She was leaning back against a counter as she talked to them, but her gaze and attention kept going back to Logan despite the fact that Zen and Alec were doing most of the talking.

"Oooh hot damn she's cute. Food's gonna suck." Original Cindy said referring back the one of two possible reasons Alec liked the joint. "Girl you okay?" She asked placing a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Yea I'm fine." she smiled brightly.

Original Cindy held open the door for Max, out of reflex the guys all turned on instinct for the opening door, smiles crossed all of their faces. Logan turned and stepped off the stool, "Hey" he smiled walking over to them, "Hey buddy" he said lifting Cale into his arms as everyone else said the required, hey's, hello's and hi's. "I didn't know you guys would be here."

"Yea well with how that one keeps going on and on about the food we figured we should check it out." Max said nodding over to Alec, who was dressed in jeans and tan work boots like Zen, both pretty grimy from working construction all day.

"You know the food's good if Logan came back" Was Alec's response as he lifted his soda and grabbed Logan's to move to a table.

"Do you mind if leave my bike in the corner?" Original Cindy called over to the waitress, not wanting to leave it out on the street.

"No," she shook her head, "go ahead" she nodded.

"What time do you have work Maxie?" Alec asked as they settled around the table. "Lanie, can we get two more cokes" He called over to the waitress.

"Fool how do you know I want a coke?" OC asked from her seat next to Max cutting off her response.

"Their water tastes funky and this is the only syrup they have. Coke seemed the way to go, unless you want straight seltzer."

"Hmm, guess Coke sounds good. So why are you boys here?"

"Vida's still working and Logan refuses to feed me anymore."

"Did you get broken up with for a second time in as many weeks?" Max smiled and looked across Alec to Logan, Alec had seated them apart out of habit seeing them both with arms showing and gloveless hands.

"Yea apparently 'Honey what's for dinner' wasn't as funny as I thought it was going to be."

"It felt like I was in a bad sitcom." Logan said shaking his head and taking a sip of his soda, he was back to thinking he would never take for granted being alone in the house.

They all laughed imagining the scene.

"Juice" Cale's voice called up to his father from his lap as he extended his hands for the glass.

Logan lowered the glass and steadied it as his son took a sip.

"Don't give him caffeine he'll be up all night." she sighed as she bent over to find the bottle she had thrown in her bag.

"At least Logan has him tonight boo" Original Cindy laughed

Max shook her head as she handed the bottle across, the bottle actually filled with juice.

Zen laughed to Logan, "Better not let her find out he's been having coffee with his oatmeal every morning."

Max just made a face, Logan was the one who had lectured her about the kid eating right months ago.

She was about to say something, when Lanie interrupted her walking over with the drinks, "There's a highchair in the back guys if you want me to bring it out."

"I'll grab it." Zen said before anyone else had a chance to offer.

She nodded, "The menu is on the board." she said gesturing over to the chalkboard, "Should I have Pete hold your food guys?"

"Yea that would be great thanks" Logan said not looking up as he tried to interest his son in the apple juice instead of the coke he kept grabbing at.

"I'll give you girls a few to decide." she said before she showed Zen to the chair.

* * *

Max's food was tasteless, but from how everyone else was responding to it, she was guessing it wasn't the food that was making this meal so un-enjoyable. It was the little brunette that Alec insisted pull up a chair when the other couple in the diner left, who hung on Logan's every word. It would have been better if it was completely one-sided, like Asha, but Logan had apparently been attentive to her in the past because he knew a hell of a lot more about her than he would have just waiting for his food. 

Max could see that the other woman was confused as to their relationship, since it was repeatedly said that they lived in different homes and were separated at the table by Alec, but they got along and joked with each other. She could also see the woman was saddened by Logan's shift in attention, she had been smiling as Max had spied them through the window, so had he. He still was, but now his smile was for Cale first and everyone else second. Max was sure though that if she were talking, his attention would be on her second and everyone else third, that brought her only slight relief though.

"Oh crap" Max said looking over at the clock.

"What?" OC turned and asked.

"I've got work in 40 minutes." she said standing, she still had to walk back to her place, change, hop on her bike and get over to work…

"I'll drive you" Logan said standing

"I got her" Alec stood, "The girl needs speed." Alec said referring not only to the clunker Logan was stuck driving, but the fact they had Cale and they couldn't weave in and out of traffic in a car as they could on a bike.

"Thanks" Max said throwing money down on the table. She walked over to the high chair and ducked down pushing Alec's chair out of the way, she placed a kiss on Cale's cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow"

"Mama" Cale said holding out his arms as she started to walk away.

Max didn't know how easy she had it as she was frozen by her son's word and his outstretched arms, his eyes were focused on her, but no tears glistened, no desperate cries, this was something he was used to…Still that didn't make it any easier for Max to walk away and she was jerked by Alec pulling her backpack. "Come on, I wanna see that mini they put you into."

Max groaned as she smiled goodbye. "I just need you to drop me off." she said as they exited the restaurant, especially thankful that today wasn't the weekend and she got to wear a black pants instead.

* * *

"Seriously Alec, you didn't need to come up." Max said as she walked into the living room. 

"Maxie, I wasn't kidding about that skirt. You in a skirt." He said shaking his head, he's only seen it two or three times in the entire time he'd known her.

She laughed as she walked into her room and shut her door, "The skirt's only for weekends and I change into it there."

Alec frowned as he dropped down to the couch and grimaced as his ass connected with one of Cale's hard plastic toys, he pulled it out and tossed it to the floor.

"So what's the deal with Logan and this Lanie?" Max said walking back into the room dressed in her uniform of black pants and a maroon three quarter button down, buttoned more than was allowed for work, but she wasn't giving Alec anything to look at.

"You've been waiting all evening to ask that haven't you?"

"Logan's my friend, I want him to be happy."

Alec narrowly avoided smirking at the cooker cutter response that Max gave that didn't at all answer the question he'd asked, "If you're asking if she likes him I think you already know the answer to that."

Max gave the required smile to Alec's permanent jealously of women falling for Logan for no reason, after all it wasn't as if they didn't do the same to Alec, poor boy just hated sharing the attention, "Alec" she said just looking at him, he knew that wasn't the answer she wanted.

"They seem to get along, she's got a great personality, he saw her at the bar last week and a few days before that when he met Zen for lunch."

"That's good." Max said nodding and started to slip the hoops into her ears that she had been clutching in her hand before she started to draw blood.

"Maxie remember who you're talking to."

"It's fine Alec, this is what I wanted." she said nodding her head to prove her point, "I should really get going." she started to push her bike out of the room.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked covering one of her hands with his own stopping her.

"Yea I'm fine" she said with a shake of her head and kept walking.

"Maxie…"

"Seriously Alec I'm fine."

"So Logan in there, with the cute waitress falling all over him…?"

"Like I said earlier, good for Logan, she seems nice."

"Max?"

She shook her head and stopped moving, "We were so close Alec."

"I know" he nodded.

"We were so close so many times…" She shook her head, "You know just one little thing different…If only one of us was just a little bit braver…Our lives would be totally different…."

He didn't know what to say to her as she stood before him with tears in her eyes.

"The first night I saw him Alec…." she shook her head, "There has never been anyone like Logan….There was something about him from the start…" She laughed rather pathetically and left Alec holding her bike as she walked over to the window rather than face him, she hated the pitying glances, "He made me forget everything, I was so turned around…Forgot I was wearing my jacket and looked like an idiot….So many times Alec….Some many times I put him down, tried to make it seem like I was just with him for what he could give me on Manticore..." She turned and looked at him, "We were so close…Why'd I always run? Why'd he always run? Why is it the moment we got our shit together they take it all away?" She hated being like this, but getting over Logan wasn't something that happened overnight.

Alec pulled her in close, "They didn't take it away Max, you still have him." He brushed the back of her head with his hand. "Hell Max, Logan'll never try anything with her. He's still yours. "

"I don't want him to be." she said with difficulty, "She seems nice. She could make him happy."

He didn't get the chance to say 'you make him happy,' she took her bike and took off.

* * *

"Hey Sug, how was work?" Original Cindy said as Max walked in the door. 

"Why are you still up?" Max asked ignoring the question as she pushed her bike in, it was just past midnight.

"Thought you might need someone to talk to."

"Have you been talking to Alec?"

"Nope, Logan."

Max frowned as she got a glass of water, "What were you talking to Logan about?"

"I told that boy he needed to move on. That is what you wanted right?"

"Yea" she said as her lips hovered over the rim of the glass.

"I finally figured it out, you're not going to move on unless he does. You can't do that to him twice can you?"

"What do you mean?"

Original Cindy gave her a look, "Rafer, your anniversary, ring any bells?"

Max knew that was part of the reason she was holding back, she had hurt Logan twice, first with Rafer and then with Alec, but it was small part of the reason. She was content in her life, she had family, companionship, friendship, a guy just seemed unnecessary, not to mention they just didn't live up to Logan. "So what happened?"

"I had a little talk with him, explained you weren't going to move on with your life unless he did. Took some convincing, but I think he's going to ask her out or at least think about it." Original Cindy didn't ask her if she wanted to renege on her promise to move on and not wait for a cure. That year mark made it pretty obvious to everyone that they needed to get on with their lives. "Can't keep living in limbo Max."

"I know" she nodded and put her glass in the sink.

"I'm gonna go crash unless you wanna talk." OC said standing.

"Nah, I'm good." she shook her head.

"Kay I'll see you in the morning."

"Thanks" Max called out softly just as Cindy was about to enter her room.

"No prob boo." Original Cindy turned and nodded, sometimes your friends needed a little push, of course Max generally needed a giant shove.

* * *

You always know that day is coming…Why is it you're always surprised when it happens?

I've just got to remember we're not losing each other, we're still right here, we always will be.


	40. First Steps

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**Chapter Forty**

_First Steps_

* * *

The solid bundle of energy jolted him out of his dreams. Shocking him into reality in a way no alarm clock had ever managed. He didn't remember his dream, but he knew she had been by his side for it. The person who would be beside him now in this bed if this were a perfect world, but it wasn't and never had been. He was used to dreaming about her after two years… 

In that first year he'd dreamed sugary sweet dreams of him being whole and them being together, he'd wake up broken and alone. He'd also dream of failing her though, sometimes his legs would suddenly stop and he would lose her…He'd wake up from both knowing he wasn't worthy of her and that in the end he was always a detriment that could very easily prove fatal to her.

That summer that had followed, had followed much the same. She would be with him, in his arms and he would wake up alone every morning and be forced to remember she was gone. Or he would lose her again and again, he would see the final scene of their time together play out…Worse were the times he had saved her in his dreams and woken up knowing that those actions hadn't been real. There was a reason his sleep patterns had followed much the same as hers in those months.

Those months that had followed her coming home his dreams had run the full gamut, like his emotions. From sickeningly sweet to losing her, but others had started to creep in the middle; normal dreams, like them being on cases together, searching out the bad guys…

In his dreams now the thing that he mostly remembered was she was beside him. He still dreamed of the happily ever after on occasion; still woke up every once in awhile sweating with her name on his lips as his eyes scanned for her. Those weren't the dreams that haunted him every night though. She was just there in them as she was in real life, by his side.

He knew he dreamed of her last night, his mind hadn't left her since he'd left her apartment after talking to Cindy. It was all he thought about the entire night, it was the reason he'd only slept four hours thanks to his son's wake up call.

He smiled as he tossed his son over and tickled him as was their ritual, there would be only one better way to wake up and that were if Max was by his side as he was jolted into consciousness.

"You hungry?" he asked leaving his son as he stood to throw on pajama bottoms and a shirt before starting their normal business of the day.

"Wan' juice" Cale said from his position on the bed.

"Then we'll get you some juice" Logan said swinging the little boy into his arms and making his way out of the room.

* * *

His mind throughout the day inevitably wandered back to Original Cindy's words the day before. He'd noticed there was something off with Max at the diner, but the last thing Max had ever been was easy to figure out. There were dozens of reasons for her to just go quiet and he'd stopped pushing a long time ago…Hell, who was he kidding he'd almost never pushed, then again neither had she…First attempts were always followed by attitudes so it was quickly dropped. 

Original Cindy had called him on that last night asking when the hell he and Max ever talked about the important stuff.

They didn't.

Not when they could avoid it, they'd gotten into habits that first year of hiding their feelings and had never broken them. Her voice had been so tiny when she'd said, 'I really thought we'd beat it.' So had he, they did in a way. It was meant to tear them apart, but it hadn't succeeded.

Now he had to take that next step though. _How was he supposed to do that? _He remembered Cindy's words of 'Max can't move on if you don't,' they knew that they needed to move on, it was just that one of them needed to take the first step. Original Cindy had painted such a bleak picture too supported by logic that he hadn't been able to fight it for long.

The problem was how to even be interested in someone besides from Max. He hadn't died when he met Max, though he certainly hadn't been lying when he told her that hers was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. He still saw other faces though, other bodies, even lusted after them slightly, but they hadn't been her... They didn't have her hair, her eyes, her lips, the perfect curve of her jaw, the way she moved…

He could talk to others, still be interested in what they had to say, he could laugh at their jokes, smile at their stupidity, be dazzled by their intellect, but they weren't her.

_No one would ever be her._

It was a simple fact he'd have to live with and get over. The first step is always the hardest, but it's one he has to take.

* * *

Logan Voiceover (at The Cellar): 

My father's words of 'Be a man, Logan' echo in my brain as I watch Lanie, Elaine smile at me.

She's cute, funny, interesting and I'm trying to stop comparing her to Max.

She grew up out in the suburbs, she had been 15 when the pulse had hit, she had just barely started dreaming of the future when it was taken away. If it hadn't been for the pulse she would have gone on to college, probably even grad school. She looks and acts like the type of person who would have helped others, a shrink or a social worker maybe. Of course these are only my opinions, but I doubt I'm far off.

I'm watching her lips and I'm wondering if she notices, they're stained with some berry colored gloss that causes the light to reflect off of them and draw your eyes in. Of course I'm looking and trying not to think of Max's. Max has those full lips I'd seen my mother's friends drop thousands of dollars for that hadn't come out half as well as Max's. Lanie's are just normal lips.

Of course my brain realizes she's attractive, hot even, especially now, dressed for night, dressed hoping she would be seeing me.

I feel as if I'm 14 all over again, not how I had with Max. Not worried if she likes me, but how the hell do I do this kind of worried. In the end she saves me from figuring out how to do this myself.

She smiles and lightly hits my arm as I make a joke slightly at her expense, "I should really be going," she says for the dozenth time in the past ten minutes, "the diner opens at 7." She bites her bottom lip the tiniest bit as she says this, it's obvious that she's trying to figure out what to do as I watch her as an observer and not as an eager participant. The next thing I know, she's stepped forward to say goodbye, she lifts up just the tiniest bit since she already has decent heels on and she softly kisses my lower lip with her own. "Don't be a stranger" she nods as she steps back making her escape.

I give her the cocky grin, my 30+ years of training before Max starting to kick in again, "Have a good day at work" I give the safe reply, especially since she has to be up in just a few hours.

"If I wake up" she smiles back before turning to head over to her friends, who she'd ditched to come talk to me.

I don't breathe a sigh of relief that it's over and the first step has been taken. I can feel their eyes watching me, eyes pretending not to be and once more I'm 14 and grateful that I'm not going to have to be the one to tell Max. Cassia's eyes catch me even though she's sideways and talking to Vida, they're filled with disdain and for the first time I realize Alec was right about her. _How the hell could I have missed that?

* * *

_

Logan and Alec made their way over to the clunker of a car, it had long been decided that Alec would be the one driving home. Logan was basically fine, he had just needed the extra courage in taking that step and it made more sense to just give Alec the keys since they had driven over together.

"So explain to me how the hell you managed that" Alec said a few minutes into their drive.

Logan's head turned and he gave him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"You just sat there, you never even made the slightest attempt at pursuing her." Alec got that women were interested in those who didn't seem available, who were disinterested. He'd experienced it plenty of times, though he slightly encouraged them at the appropriate times. Logan though, he'd just sat there, talking to her as if she were Zen, "Hell she would have taken you home with her if you said anything besides 'Have a good day at work.'"

Logan didn't say anything he just turned his head back and chuckled silently.

"And Cassia looked like she was going to rip Lanie's eyes out at any minute. She doesn't even look at Max like that."

"Cassia isn't stupid, Max is the best of the best." Logan said entertaining Alec's need to talk and hopefully shutting him up.

Alec glared, _Logan was right, _he hated it, but he was right.

Logan just chuckled again seeing Alec brooding next to him, he really needed to find him an apartment.

* * *

Thanks for reading guys, wow I'm thinking more than a few of you are cranky now. 

**Babyangel:** I want you to breathe, you knew this was coming since the start of the story.

**Mystjade:** Yea Logan's point of view was the only way to tell this chapter. Please keep telling me in the future when you want to see someone's point of view, I'll do my best to include it.

**Kristibella:** You reviewed just a few days ago (and your reviews are always fabulous), I post too frequently to expect a review from everyone each chapter. Okay well except for Babyangel, I've become dependent on seeing her name.


	41. Under the Surface

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* * *

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**Chapter 41**

_Under the Surface_

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* * *

**

**_Max Voiceover (her room, getting dressed): _**

_He went and did it. Last night _ _Logan__ kissed the trampy ass waitress. _

(she shakes her head)

_I'm overreacting, she's sweet and kind, exactly the type of girl I want for _ _Logan__. Still even given the givens, if given the opportunity I'd fill her conditioner bottle with hair remover. _

_Damn the bleach has finally started to go to my brain and I'm thinking like a girl, normally I'd just want to get in one…okay a few good punches. One nice blow to her… _

"Max" Original Cindy's voice calls out from the living room, " Logan's here"

Max shakes her head trying to clear her head and turns to the bed, "Hey Cale, Daddy's here." Max says crawling across the bed to her son who was entertaining himself bashing her brush against his toys making his own type of music.

The word Daddy grabs his attention, "Dada" the brush falls down though still tight in his little hand as he looks at her.

"Yea Daddy" she says scooping him into her arms and grabbing the black and white cat that he occasionally needed to sleep with and was the only thing they really transferred between the homes besides from Cale. Of course the cat was only called "Cat," Logan and Max having proven they sucked at naming things; luckily for Cale, he had his Auntie Cyn as a more permanent fixture in his life now to get his creative juices flowing.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

She opened her door with Cale resting on her hip, cat in hand and she studied Logan as he and Original Cindy turned to watch her emerge from her room. Light blue fitted shirt, black pants, his hair was back to spikes instead of his almost product free short hair of the summer, light scruff on his face, very Logan of the past ignoring the gloves and he didn't look guilty at all. She smiled brightly to hide her anger, why she was angry she wasn't really sure, but she was.

"Nice outfit" Logan kept a straight face as his eyes rolled over her.

She looked down and saw a black sandal on one foot, a brown sandal the other, then gold hot pants, topped off by a hot pink tank and inwardly cursed and tried to play it off, "You and OC were the ones who wanted me to have a new look."

He gave a short laugh walking over to take Cale out of her arms, "Well you succeeded."

"Yea only the fashion police will be after ya." Original Cindy said shaking her head, "Keep the shorts though…I love those."

Logan pried loose the brush in his son's hand, "Am I taking this with me?" he asked raising it up.

Max snatched it out of his hand a little too quickly, a side effect of the anger and shook her head, "He's in a banging mood today."

Logan made a face and then lifted the boy up to his face, "Good thing it's almost your bedtime. So where are you guys going?"

"Entropy" Max said naming one of the least disgusting clubs in the city, it hadn't been new in years, but it was still a decently popular place.

Logan made a slight face and asked with a slightly confused expression, "The place with the cages?"

"You know the club?" Max made a face.

"I know the guy who owns it, I went there a few times when it first opened."

"You went to a club?" Max asked.

"Not exactly my favorite place to hang out, but yea I did." he said with a few nods before ending with a slight chuckle over her inability to believe he'd ever been in a club.

Max shook her head, trying to get over her thoughts of Logan in a club, "What time are you bringing Cale by tomorrow?"

Logan's turn to make a face, "Aren't we having lunch?"

"Oh god that's right. 12:30 your house." she said repeating the plans they had made earlier in the week.

He nodded before saying, "I should get going, I left Alec in the kitchen."

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

Max wet her face and hair in the bathroom at the club, washing away the sweat and the grime of being there for three hours.

"So what was wrong with the last one?" Original Cindy asked propping herself up against the counter.

"Will you stop trying to pimp me out." Max said walking over and snagging off a piece of paper towel and drying her face.

"You need to trust Original Cindy on this one boo. You need to just get back out there."

"And you want me to get back out there with some…" she looked at the door and groaned, "ughh…" before allowing her entire body to shake.

"Max, I'm not telling you that you have to go marry one of them. Just go kiss someone, you need to get over that first step."

Max grew more serious and looked away from Cindy's gaze, "I kissed Alec when I was in heat." _Logan__ had stopped being her last kiss months ago._

"You kissed Alec?" Original Cindy made a face, "You never told me that."

"Yea not exactly the type of thing I'm proud of…So can I just go home now?" She turned around slowly with pleading eyes.

"You ain't havin fun?" Cindy looked hurt.

"I am" Max was partially telling the truth, she still loved being out with her girl, she still loved just dancing and chilling for hours, but the reason she normally loved it wasn't happening today. Normally all of her thoughts and worries disappeared, but not today.

"He kissed her Max. He kissed her and he'll probably take her on a date one of these days. He's doing it because he knows you two need to move on."

"Was that supposed to inspire me to go out there and bang the guy with the turquoise eyes you've been shovin at me all night?" Max said rolling her eyes and stifling a laugh.

"His name is John, he's cute and funny for a guy, not to mention he has a real job."

Max sighed, shook her head and pushed open the door leaving Original Cindy to follow her.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

She saw him before he saw her, she saw his profile as he made his way through the crowds of people. _He'd come to stop her, _he knew why OC had dragged her out and he'd come to tell her he'd changed his mind that he didn't want to move on…Her heart soared, a grin spread across her face forgetting that it was insane….Then he turned, his eyes connected with hers.

The grin fell as he walked towards her, the expression on his face wasn't one she was used to seeing anymore. He was angry, pissed, it made her think of their fights that first year, it was a very Eyes Only look and not Logan Cale.

"Oooh Boo, what did you do?" Original Cindy asked having stopped dancing to figure out what had distracted Max.

"No idea, but I think it's bad."

"Where the hell is your cell phone?" Logan said approaching them.

Max was too shocked to speak for a moment.

"Oooh, uh…" Original Cindy opened her bag and lifted up Max's phone.

Logan's eyes bored into the phone and then gave a piercing look at Max without saying anything else.

"You got nine missed calls Sug." Original Cindy offered a weak smile as she handed over the phone.

"We need to go. I'll explain in the car." Logan turned straight into another man.

"Hey Logan, man it is you. I saw you from above." The dark haired man dressed in loud club wear said just before he gave Logan a brief hug.

"Vince" Logan smiled, trying to control his anger and lack of patience. "We're in a rush, we've got to go."

" Logan man I haven't seen you in what 3 years? And you're just taking off?"

"Sorry family emergency." he went to place a hand on Max's back to lead her out of there, but held it back as he realized the shirt was wet. "Come on, let's go." He said as he forced himself to give a parting smile to his old friend.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

"Isabelle's dead" Logan said once they all slid into the car and the doors shut.

Max turned in the front seat to face him, her mouth slightly agape.

"White found her, took Connor with him."

"Owen?" Max asked after the 14 year old X-6 that had gone with Isabelle and her son part for protection, part to start a new life as her son.

"He's following White that's how I found out, they're going to put Connor through the initiation" Logan said stonily as he drove.

"But…" They'd run the tests, they knew Connor wouldn't survive.

"I know, Krit and Syl should be here in a few hours." He nodded as he drove.

Max leaned her head back against the seat, it had been decided that the next time they had a clear shot at White her sibs would come in because as Lydecker had said the ones that had escaped were the best of the best. She was going to war again…

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

"This isn't your fault Logan." She said as she propped herself up against his desk, now dressed all in black since they'd stopped at her place to drop of Original Cindy and get new clothing. She'd grabbed a shower at his place, after going over the intel they already had with Logan and Alec.

His fingers froze on the keyboard and he didn't look up, "I let them down Max."

"She knew what she was getting into."

Logan's attention returned back to the computer without responding and Max decided against pushing him. She made her way out of the room and to the kitchen, since that was the only thing left to provide entertainment since Alec had decided to crash before Krit and Syl arrived.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

She was munching on chips, which she guessed were Alec's contribution to the kitchen and reading the paper as she heard Logan make his way out of the living room and up the stairs, his shower started running a few minutes later. It confused her for a brief moment until she realized that he probably just wanted to be alone to think and he knew the shower was the only place she wouldn't disturb him.

He was right, she waited until she heard the shower turn off and gave him a few minutes to get dressed before she headed up the stairs pausing only to check on their sleeping son. She knocked softly before entering the room. He was fully dressed in a pair of windbreakers and a white shirt as he toweled off any remaining moisture in his hair.

"You aren't Superman Logan, you can't save the world."

"I'm aware of that Max." he replied with attitude tossing the towel onto a chair as he picked up his glasses.

"We're gonna get Connor back." she added knowing that the woman had put her life on the line not to help them, but try to save her remaining son.

Logan closed his eyes; the guilt that he had been experiencing over his failure to keep her safe had only been masking the deeper fear, the one where she wouldn't come home again. He'd had plenty of reason to worry about her over the past year, but normally everything was instantaneous in happening, he was too busy reacting to allow his fear to fully take hold. Right now though, all he could do was think and wait. "We're sending you in blind Max."

Worry passed over her face that she couldn't hide, she pushed it to the side, just like she had been doing since Logan told her what had happened. She had gone up against White and his cronies before and she had beaten them or at least held them off, it made sense to think this time would be no different. She'd lost it all before though, she knew how easily things could go wrong. _The thought of never seeing Logan and Cale again… _"I'll be fine. Aren't I always?"

He looked at her and shook his head. _No she wasn't and that was the problem. _"You know you should get some rest, I know," he shook his head, "you don't need it, but who knows how long it'll be before you can sleep again."

She looked at Logan and knew when she came back she'd find him in the same clothes and he'd be ready to drop. "I think you need sleep more than I do."

"I'll sleep when you guys are on the road." he lied.

She decided to ignore calling him on the lie and instead looked at his alarm clock, "Cale's gonna be up in 3 hours. You aren't sleeping for at least another 17 hours if you don't go to sleep now."

"Fine Max" he said lifting up his phone, "I'll go sleep on the couch until everyone comes if you promise to get some rest."

She was left staring at his back as he started to almost storm out of the room, his hand was on the door when she softly called out, "I'm gonna come back Logan."

His hand froze as did the rest of him.

"White isn't winning this. I'm gonna be back."

He turned and laughed softly, "You'd think I'd be better at this after two years." He had been better in the past, before he'd lost her, before she'd been shot twice, before she'd barely escaped situations with her life, which once more brought him back to the time she didn't.

The pain that had started to creep though his eyes killed Max, she hated being the reason he hurt. Though she also knew that if the situations were reversed he'd go in a heartbeat,_ this is what they had to do._ Right now though, all she wanted to do was hug him, hold onto him for dear life. She spied his jacket in the corner, the waterproof one.

His gaze followed her movements at first confused until she started to slip on the jacket, he was by her side as she zipped it up and pulled the hood up. He took her in his arms and she kept her face to the side instead of burying it into him like she wanted; she settled for resting it against him, keeping her head turned to avoid his neck. After holding her for awhile he laughed softly, "I should probably be the one wearing the jacket."

"Yea" she said with her head still pressed to the side, "This is kinda awkward."

He laughed again and pulled back and kissed the top of the hood, "Get some rest."

"Are you going to?"

"I'll be fine Max don't worry."

His hand was once more on the door as he was smacked in the head by flying clothing, pulling it off of his shoulder, he realized it was another jacket, she'd gone into his closet and grabbed another one.

"Just stay Logan." she said without much expression, she'd always regretted not kissing him goodbye, _she'd always regret that…_

He slid into the jacket, he was virus impenetrable everywhere now besides from his face and turned the handle of the door so their son could easily push in the room when he awoke.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

Alec made his way down the hall, unable to sleep more than a few hours tonight and realized the house was eerily still. He pushed open Logan's slightly open door to find them asleep, both dressed for bad weather or for killer viruses with jackets zipped and hoods up. Max was pressed into Logan's side with his arm holding her tight, her head restig low on his chest and her hand clutching his jacket as Cale did making sure he stayed close.

Alec smiled softly and shook his head as he made his way into the room and lifted Logan's cell off the nightstand before making his way back out of the room and returning the door to its previous position.


	42. The Reason

ML Fan: No no no, you have it wrong…Everyone is still all clear as to whom Max and Logan love…My clarity on this subject must not be as good as I thought it was. This isn't a matter of them not loving each other, it's them wanting to protect it actually because they can't be/can't stay what they want to be…If they try more it'll eventually have to stop and neither thinks they'd be able to let go. Neither doubts who the other loves, OC is trying to get Max to move on bc Max keeps saying that's what she needs to do and OC has started to agree with her. 

Bob: Thanks for giving this story a chance (and everyone else who has started reading this against their better judgements when seeing the title and summary) I hope it has enough fluff and love for you to balance out the angst.

**Disclaimer: **Okay so me and anything with technology doesn't work. My elliptical is still broken and it's that or insomnia which helps me put the chapters together and now I manage to break my computer. I've fixed most of what I managed to kill, but after hours after trying to fix microsoft works it's still kinda busted, so no grammar/spell check. I ran it through aol and I hoped that worked, hopefully I'll have figured out how to fix this in a few days or have a new program…Yea I'm sorry guys.

**Story Setup:** Now as for the story please insert your own childlike replacement of words (okay don't know if that made any sense). I could try doing it phonetically (okay hoping that's the right word), but that would just drive me insane (I know this bc I tried) you all have in your mind a child's attempt at grown up words so just insert where Cale speaks.

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**Chapter 42**

_The Reason_

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* * *

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Max woke up realizing something was off. With her eyes still closed she remembered where she was, asleep on Logan's chest, his deep and steady breaths assuring her they hadn't come in contact during their rest. Her eyes then opened to a pair of barely open soft blue ones, Cale had climbed onto the bed and imitated his mother's actions by resting his head down on Logan, his normal actions forgotten by the unusual scene that had awaited him as he plowed into his father's room.

For a brief moment she stayed watching his eyes, her son's eyes and realized that there was a chance that this would be the last morning she would see them. The perfection of the moment reminding her of the enormity of what she had and how easily it could be taken from her.

"I feel like a pillow." Came Logan's sleep laden voice from above as he looked down at them making sure to keep the situation light because he didn't want it to end.

"You're a very good pillow." She smiled pushing herself up at the happy little family moment they were having, _they had a lot of those,_ _even though they weren't your typical family. _"Isn't Daddy a good pillow Cale?" She asked lifting her son up, waking him back up fully.

He smiled brightly at her, "Pillow."

"Yea Daddy's a good pillow" she said holding him close as Logan pushed himself up.

"I'm a sweaty pillow, there's a reason I don't sleep like this." he said rubbing the spot where her head had laid for over three hours. The problem was with impermeable cloth was that while it might be impermeable to the virus it was impermeable to air too.

Max laughed and lowered Cale to the bed as she stripped off the jacket as he did the same.

"Ungry" Cale said launching himself into his father's arms.

Alec laughed walking into the door, "I agree with the kid, I'm starving because someone ate my breakfast last night." He gave an accusing look at Max.

"Chips are not breakfast." She said standing.

Both men gave Max a look, more then well aware that she'd had junk food as breakfast many a times.

"Okay well at least not the pitiful amount you had left."

Alec shook his head and walked over to Logan extending the cell, "Krit just called and said they should be here in about an hour."

"Owen?"

"He says it looks like they're headed back to this area."

"Ungry" Cale reminded his father.

"We're going" He said lifting his son up.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Max don't teach him to climb up on the counters." Logan said on a sigh as Max positioned herself and Cale on the counter close to the stove. Cale still in striped blue jammies happily curled into his mother as he drank juice from a sippy cup. He was a clingy sleepy child, always either right before he went to sleep or right after he woke up, he just wanted to be close to them, they had both become quite adept at doing things with only one hand.

"For all we know he could be part monkey, this could be natural for him."

"He's not part monkey and he doesn't need anymore ideas about climbing things, he keeps trying to go over the gate at the top of the stairs."

Max made a face and suddenly found herself wishing for Manticore's 'improvements' to make an appearance, either the agility to not fall or the nine lives they had given her and held her son a little tighter. "So what's the deal with pancakes?" she asked as she watched him finish taking off the first batch and start pouring the second.

He turned and looked at her, "Gonna have to be a little more specific Max."

"Mine never turn out like yours….Yours are all fluffy and…cooked properly." she ended with a pout.

He laughed and turned the spatula in his hand handing off the handle to Max and lifted Cale out of her arms.

"Wait I didn't say I wanted to make them."

"It's the only way to learn Max. Come or they're going to burn."

She frowned as she hopped off the counter and moved in front of the stove.

"You see the bubbles starting to come up?'

"Yea"

"When you see the bubbles come all the way up to the top it means it's time to flip them."

She turned spatula in hand, "You mean all these times I ate black or raw pancakes was because I missed seeing a bubble?"

"You're going to be eating black pancakes again really soon…" he said looking past her to the forgotten pancakes.

She turned and cursed as she started to flip them, "Haha, know-it-all they're still fine."

He shook his head and chuckled quietly as made his way to his coffee cup.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Max smiled across the table to Logan as she heard the doorbell. The last time she had seen her sibs had been over a year ago on that fateful day that had almost taken her from this world. She and Logan both pushed back their chairs from the table having long since finished eating, Alec who had been in the living room beat them to the door.

Krit was the first one in, dressed casually in jeans and a blue tee shirt, some slight facial hair trying to age his baby face, he took one look at Max carrying Cale walking in front of Logan and turned back to Syl, "How long have we been gone?"

"What the…" the blonde hair shook as she tried to understand what the hell he was talking about, but then followed his gaze back to them, her mouth opened until she noticed the gloves still on their hands.

"Logan has a thing about Manticore strays" Max said giving a sweet smile to hide the pain of her sister seeing there was no cure and that pitiful look she had long despised.

Her sister smiled again and rushed forward to envelope Max in a hug, careful not to crush the little person between them, "I'm so glad to see you."

"You too" she said in a weak voice.

"So you trying to be me with the hair?" she said pulling back and touching one of the blonde locks.

"Please don't get her started on the hair." Alec said shaking his head from the doorway. "Well look who we have here" Alec said as his attention turned away from Max and he saw the familiar face out on the porch.

"We brought Brin with us." Syl said responding to Max's confused expression.

She smiled politely at Alec as she made her way to the door and entered the house, "I still don't like you" she said to Max.

"Then why are you here?" Max questioned with attitude hiding the pain of her sister still hating her because of the brainwashing.

"I hate anyone trying to hurt us more."

"Good enough" Max said with a bob of her head.

"You guys hungry?" Logan asked from still behind Max.

"Oh" Krit said on a sigh, "you have no idea"

Max laughed and turned back to Logan, "Why don't you clean Cale up and I'll start on the pancakes, I think I have the bubble to top thing down."

"You sure?" He asked teasingly.

"I think I can manage it" she smiled as she handed their son over.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"OC" Max said opening the door in surprise

"Mornin Sug"

"What are you doing here?" Max said moving to the side to allow her friend in the house.

She raised up a paper bag, "Your hair ain't gonna do us any good if he knows who to look for now."

Just then Max caught a sight of the blonde wave dangling in her line of sight, "I knew that" she said with a tilt of her head. If White got away today he'd have an even better idea of who to come after.

"Mmmhmm" OC murmured through pursed lips.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Now there's the girl we all know and love" Syl said as Max reappeared back downstairs awhile later with her newly temporarily darkened locks.

"I don't know, Max was hot as a blonde." Krit said pondering the difference.

"Krit" Max said with a shake of her head as Logan and Original Cindy laughed.

"Our blonde bombshell will be back tomorrow. I'm gonna get going, it was nice to meet you all. Logan call me if you need any help with Cale."

"Will do." He nodded from behind the computer

"I'll see you tomorrow girl" Original Cindy said taking Max into her arms hoping she was right.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The time had come to go, White's final position nearly nailed down. Max was being forced to take another look at all she had to lose, if she didn't go though she knew she'd lose it anyway. White wasn't the kind of enemy to just walk away, especially since they knew Ray's location, he would be back if they didn't find him first. The others had already headed out to the van bringing out the equipment Alec had picked up at TC the night before while Logan had been trying to get in contact with Max.

"Hey I'm gonna go now" Max said popping down to Cale's level as he played on the floor.

His face turned up and he gave her a bright smile, "Truck" he said lifting it up, too interested in his toy to pay attention to the word 'Go.'

"Yea, that's your truck. I'll be back to play with it soon. You be good for your daddy." She kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair causing giggles and little hands trying to pat it back down.

"You good to go?" Logan asked walking back into the living room.

"Yea" she said standing back up, "All set." she nodded.

"Good" he nodded

She tried to figure out what do as she stared at him, his outfit the same as he had slept in, the jacket having been put back on as he set things up in the van. They both just looked at each other in that awkward moment that could be their last if things didn't go as planned, a fact they were both very aware of, unlike the last time when they had both been so sure she'd come home. "I'll see you tomorrow." she nodded.

He nodded back, he knew he'd talk to her over the phone setting up the final plans, but he wouldn't be near her again until then and it wasn't guaranteed despite her words, "Yea tomorrow."

She smiled, "Gotta go kick some White ass for Josh."

He smiled, "And my apartment."

She laughed and nodded again, "That too, so tomorrow?"

He nodded again, but then put a hand out as she tried to walk past him and pulled her back to him as he'd wished he'd done the last time. He pulled her into her arms, hugged her then whispered "Tomorrow Max."

She pulled back and nodded, "Tomorrow."

She made her way out of the house quickly, reminding herself that everything inside of that house was her reason for going.

* * *

Now I must share with you Babyangel's words for what she wants to have happen in the next chapter because I cracked up over it.

"u sure u cant be persuaded to just forget about them moving on... let's just pretend they've tried and they found it too hard...and then the magical cure pops out of ame's ass and they all live happily ever after…"


	43. Alternate Meanings

* * *

**Chapter 43 **

_Alternate Meanings_

* * *

The cell phone kept catching his eye as he paced, he couldn't seem to avoid it. His eyes were drawn to it; he could feel its silent presence even when he couldn't see it. 

Things had been fine, calm. She'd said goodnight to their son over the phone. Cale had gone down peacefully to sleep. He'd spoken to her a few minutes after leaving their son safe in his bed to tell her to "Be careful." He could hear her smile over the phone, whether it was for him or to reassure herself that everything would go fine, he didn't know, but he had heard it.

'Be careful' had always been his goodbye, more than a goodbye, an "I love you, take care, I can't be in the world without you," everything he could never say. Her smile had been her goodbye, her 'I'll be back, can't get rid of me that easily.'

She'd whispered "I'll talk to you soon" this time as her smile finished, "Gotta blaze, the kids are getting antsy."

That had been an hour ago, ten minutes before Cale had started screaming at the top of his lungs at the top of the stairs for him. That wasn't out of the ordinary on any other day but today. Today it had driven fear deep into his heart. So now, he was pacing, his nerves now transferring onto Cale after trying to remain calm at first. He'd failed at that, calm had happened for the first thirty minutes; then the phone didn't ring.

It just stayed on the desk completely silent as he gave up trying to get his son to at least go to sleep on the couch. It just didn't ring.

Twenty to twenty five minutes, that had been the game plan. Based on the blue prints and the intel that had gathered scoping out the place, it shouldn't have taken longer than twenty five minutes if everything had gone to plan. So obviously, something was off…

The phone rang and he let out a deep sigh, until he remembered that just because it rang, it didn't mean it was Max.

"Hello?" he said in a calm and steady voice.

"Fuckin bastard got away."

He smiled at her greeting, never so glad to hear someone curse. "Is everyone okay? Did you get Connor?"

"We're all fine, Alec got shot again."

"Just wanted to catch up to you Maxie" Alec's voice called out.

"Obviously he's going to live" Came Max's dry reply over the phone.

"Dada," Cale cried out annoyed his father was no longer paying attention to him. "Daaa," the long whine followed afterwards.

"Hold on Cale." He said jostling their son in his arms trying to once more get him to calm down.

"Why is he still up? Didn't he go to bed?"

"He decided he didn't like it there."

"Well put him on."

He dropped the phone down to his son's ear, he could hear he soft murmurings of "It's Mommy, buddy go to sleep for Daddy, I'll be home soon…"

Cale's attention quickly disappeared for his mother's voice, at least he had long since learned that she wasn't trapped in the phone or hiding from him. They had learned that the hard way early on when he'd cried until she'd gotten over to the house after hearing her on the phone. He started grabbing at the phone now looking at it as a toy.

"It's me again." Logan said raising the phone up to his ear.

"He try to throw it again?"

"I hold onto it Max." He said smiling thinking of her slightly cracked phone from when Cale had thrown it as they were walking down stairs.

She laughed instead of making a comeback, "We should be back in 3 hours."

"Max, the drive takes four, don't get pulled over." He shook his head, the mission had gone too smoothly for them to get themselves arrested now.

"Hey Syl's driving, anything bad happens blame my sister girl not me." Her voice suddenly grew louder, "Alec stop being a baby and let Krit help you." Her voice lowered as her words returned to Logan, "I should probably go and help."

He chuckled still bouncing his son in his arms, "You do that, I'll see you soon."

"Bye" she said and they both hit end. 


	44. Big Baby

Yea sorry Babyangel I know you think I have the magic pen, but just couldn't figure out how to make that happen for ya. Yea yea could do the whole Sandeman thing since he's White's dad after all, but yea I'm pretty sure if White gets anywhere near Sandeman he'd kill the old man.

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Four **

_Big Baby _

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Krit moved to the side as Max ended her call, allowing her access to Alec, the man he'd been told was the twin of Ben. It was hard for him to comprehend that his sweet, nurturing brother shared the same DNA as this guy. Then again from what he'd heard about who Ben had become maybe it wasn't so hard.

"I swear to god you are such a big baby." Max said as Alec flinched as she cleaned the wound the best she could with what the had in the van. "Look," Max turned her head to the back of the van where Brin was carefully tending to the minor injuries Connor had received when White and the familiars had found them in Canada, "a six year old is taking this better than you."

Alec looked outraged as Brin slightly laughed while applying a band-aid to a cut on the young boy's arm, "He has a few cuts, I was shot."

"That's the best we're gonna do until we get you back to town." Max said as she finished wrapping the gauze on Alec's arm.

He frowned looking down at his arm and its second bullet wound in less than a year and then up at Max, "So what's wrong with the little guy?"

She shook her head, "Just doesn't seem to want to sleep."

"So what's the deal with that anyway?" Her brother asked listening in on their conversation.

Max knew that question was coming, she'd been waiting for it all day, she'd managed to avoid it up until then because there was so much to tell them about Terminal City. The time was here now and she still didn't know exactly how to answer it.

"I mean how does it work…You know the no touching and all. Got to be a little difficult living together."

She cut him off, "Logan and I don't live together."

"Oh" Krit made a face.

"Okay so then the question is what's the deal with you and Logan?" Syl called from up front, "And can someone come sit with me, I'm lonely." She ended with a smile.

"Oooh" Alec said with a smile, hopped up, and made his way forward, his injury completely forgotten.

"Logan and I are over like that." Max said softly.

"Oh" Krit said in shock remembering their interactions of almost a year and a half ago, not to mention what had happened with Zack, "Sorry I brought it up sis."

"No biggie, got used to it awhile ago."

"I don't suppose someone's going to explain to me what's going on?" Brin said still seated next to the two boys.

"Your mentor decided to put a virus in me to kill Logan." She replied with attitude.

"Max" Syl called out from the front. "Brin is not Manticore; she is not responsible for anything that happened there."

"I know" Max replied unenthusiastically.

"So he's…" Brin nodded her head leaving the words unsaid.

"Yea that's him." Max nodded realizing her sister meant Eyes Only, "He helped us find you."

She nodded, "And that's why 5," she shook her head stopping from saying his designation instead of his name, "that's why they made Zack go after him."

"Yea"

They all remained silent for a few moments, each missing their brother, even Brin whose memories had been resurfacing slowly and in fragments over the past year. Alec remained silent not seeing what the big draw was about the brooding psychopath who had been ready to kill him.

"How's he doing?" Max finally asked unable to stand the silence any longer.

"Talked to Zane a few weeks ago." Krit nodded, "Said they were gonna try to make it to Mexico. If that didn't work they were going to stay in California learn to surf or something."

Max laughed trying to imagine Zack surfing, maybe it was just Zack doing anything fun that she had such a hard time picturing.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They dropped her off at Logan's with the two boys before they headed over to Terminal City to get Alec's wound attended to. He greeted her at the living room doorway as she walked in carrying the sleeping child with Owen by her side.

"Hey" they both smiled to each other.

"I'm gonna go put him in Alec's room; he said he was staying at TC tonight." She said shifting the dark-haired boy in her arms, "Can you get the gate Owen?" She nodded up the stairs to the safety gate.

"Yea" the teenager nodded and she followed him up the stairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

As Max made her way down the hallway after getting the boys settled in, she poked her head into Cale's room to check on her sleeping son and frowned when she saw his bed empty. She headed back to the living room, to find Logan ensconced behind the desk as normal and his namesake sound asleep on the couch covered by a red blanket. He smiled as he saw her looking at Cale, "I tried to move him once and he didn't appreciate it very much."

"I'll just leave him be then." She chuckled slightly as she sat down at the end of the couch.

"I think I might have found Connor and Owen a new home." He'd spent the day planning for the best possible outcome.

"Where?"

" Nevada, a pastor and his wife."

"Seriously," Max shook her head, "how do you find these people?"

He laughed, "Good people do good things." He said simply.

The noise disturbed Cale; he stretched out his body and rubbed his eyes, "Mama?"

"Hey there buddy" Max said taking the sleepy toddler into her arms.

He curled himself into her body and started to fall back asleep.

"I'm gonna go put him down." She said standing, "Why don't you go crash too? You've got to be tired by now."

Logan frowned looking at the corner of the computer screen, it wasn't even one yet.

"You're going to have a house full of boys tomorrow Logan and they're all going to be up with Cale."

Logan grimaced, "Ugh, didn't think of that."

She laughed, "And I've got work at 11, so I'm gonna take Alec's bike and head home."

"You're leaving me alone to deal with three kids?"

"Four since Alec's probably gonna skip out of work tomorrow."

"Ugh" Logan made another face as he started to shut down the computer.


	45. Everyday Life

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**Chapter Forty-Five **

_Everyday Life _

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The Following Wednesday: 

Lanie laughed as Logan turned towards Alec, his face expressionless as he slightly shook his head over the comment before slowly turning back to her and smiling slightly.

"You live with him" she laughed again from her normal position of leaning up against the counter as they ate.

"Only because his girlfriend kicked him out."

"Ugh," he made a face, "she wasn't even my girlfriend. That's what makes it so completely unfair."

She laughed tucking a honey brown strand of hair behind her ear, "Have you figured out what you did yet?" She was well versed in the Alec and Asha drama since he had lunch and dinner there several times a week.

"No clue" he said shaking his head, he'd gone over the night White had killed Isabelle bearing slightly burnt brownies as a peace offering, since making them the last time had proven to be their breaking point, "I apparently just don't understand." She'd repeated that phrase several times in his various attempts to either move past what had happened or draw what had gone wrong out of her. "So what about that cute little redheaded friend of yours?" He asked changing the subject, he was not going to be brought down by a woman, he wouldn't give her that power.

"Camilla?"

"Yea her."

"She's single; she'll be out this weekend. You guys going to The Cellar on Friday?"

Alec frowned, he'd told Sketch he'd hit up Crash with him this Friday, eh he doubted his friend would be that saddened by the change in venue. "Yea"

"Not me" Logan said suddenly looking down at his watch and realizing the time, "Max is working." He said tossing down his money.

"I'm sure we'll be there on Saturday too."

He smiled, "I'm sure I'll see you then, thanks for the meal."

She nodded, "Welcome."

"I'll see you back at the house man." Alec said as Logan was leaving, "Okay so what's the deal with this Camilla girl."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Saturday: 

"Hey you haven't been around much lately." Jeff said walking up to Max in Terminal City.

"I picked up a couple extra shifts this week." Max said turning to the dark haired and eyed X-5 whom she'd worked with a decent amount during the early days of the siege. "You just come from work?" She said taking in the ash blue coveralls that covered his 6-foot frame.

"No Max," he smiled, "I dress like this normally." He shook his head, "Actually fixing up a car here."

"A car and not a bike?" She made an appalled face.

"Yea well some of us are actually stuck paying rent." Getting a car from the junkyard was a lot cheaper than buying a bike.

"At least you have a landlord." She offered

"Yea lot of good that does me, I haven't had a hot shower in a week."

"You got spoiled quickly didn't you?"

He laughed, they'd only been out of TC a few weeks, "You kidding that first morning when the freezing cold water hit me I think I actually missed Manticore."

"Then you realized it was just the hypothermia setting in?"

He laughed, "So what are you up to here?"

"Nothing, just came by to see Josh. Apparently though I'm not as interesting as Cale, they're playing in some paint."

Jeff made a confused face.

"Finger painting or something" Max said shaking her head, "Not really my kind of thing."

"Feel like rebuilding an engine?" He asked with a smile.

"Now that's my kind of fun." She said with a nod.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hey" Max said walking into the lab to see Logan with Cale looking over some papers, "Josh said you were up here."

He looked up at her, his eyes focused, "Finger painting Max?"

"What? Sounded like fun." She shrugged her shoulders, and then noticed Cale's fresh clothing.

"He had paint in his ears." Logan informed her.

She laughed walking over, "How'd his art turn out?"

"Similar to Josh's." he joked.

"So what's going on up here?" She said noticing the lack of people in the normally busy area.

"They figured it out."

"You're kidding?"

He shook his head, "Nope, apparently it was pretty straightforward." They'd identified the immunity quickly in the transgenics and Isabelle. Finding the slightly different variation in Max hadn't been that hard and they just had to work it into a transmittable form, not that difficult since it had been created to do just that.

"So do we need Josh?"

Logan shook his head, "They isolated the antibodies without the virus."

"Oooh" Max said with a small smile spreading across her face, "Amsey boy is gonna be pissed."

Logan shook his head over her pleasure, she'd seemed to have forgotten in either 5 or 8 months, which ever comet this virus was going to be attached to, when the apocalypse didn't come they were likely to have more than just White after them.

"How'd the make it airborn?" Max asked knowing that had been the only means of transmission possible in order to infect the population in time, not to mention it's not like they'd be able to talk the masses into getting a vaccine made by transgenics to prevent their death from the tail dust of a comet.

Logan shook his head and handed over the report, "This will probably make more sense to you than me. I need to be heading out anyway." He said standing, "I'll see you tomorrow Picasso." He kissed the little boy's head before handing him off to Max.

"Big plans?" She asked about his Saturday night, wondering what was making him leave her so quickly, he always stayed and talked for awhile even though he'd seen her less than eight hours ago dropping off Cale.

"Nothing special."

"Going to the Cellar tonight?"

"I was thinking about it."

"That place is grimier than Crash."

"And their beer's kind of flat." he added.

"Sounds like a good time." she joked.

"It's not that bad" he laughed.

"Well you have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Max" He said slinging the backpack over his head, "Night buddy" he waved.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hey Max" Jeff said rushing to catch up with her.

She turned with Cale in her arms and her bag slung over her back, "You still having issues with the alternator?"

"Yea, but that's not why I'm stopping you. I wanted to know if you wanted to grab dinner?"

"I was just gonna eat some Ramen it's his bedtime." she looked down at Cale.

"How about I grab some real Chinese?"

She thought about it for a brief moment before nodding, "Yea why not. You remember how to get to my place?" She asked he'd been to her place a few times during the siege escorting Original Cindy home.

"No Max I forgot." He said shaking his head as any X-series would do when being asked that question.

"Sorry" she smiled being used to the normal human memory.

"So I'll see you in an hour?"

"Sounds good." She nodded.

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**Thanks for reading! **


	46. Permanent Fixtures

**I'd just like to share with you all that last chapter was actually supposed to be the last chapter, I don't mean the chapter itself, I mean the number. Forty five chapters and I thought that was ridiculously long before I got off track. Ugh…How did I do this to myself and you? Totally gonna stay on track and focus this time (yea so hopefully I won't forget to include something like the runes like I did when leading up to saving the world). Now after saying that this is a lead in chapter, so not complaining about it being short (you know who you are :-D ) **

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**Chapter Forty Six **

_Permanent Fixtures_

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Max Voiceover (Top of Needle): 

There's something that strikes me every time I come up here…It's how everything always looks exactly the same. This could have been one of my first days in Seattle, it could have been before my friends, before Logan, during Logan….

_(shakes head) _

God that was a thought provoking time...Being here with Logan, when I first came back, walking away from Logan forever, our first few days back in the real world….This view has remained a constant throughout.

_A constant for the first time ever in my life. _

I stayed long enough for it to be that. I never meant to. I'd expected to move on in a few months, definitely not stay more than a year. Somehow, I found myself oddly attached to this city and its inhabitants for the first time ever. This was something about it all, about being part of this weird extended family. Theo had taken me under his wing, Cindy showed me how to live for the first time, Kendra…Hmm don't really know what Kendra did. Maybe she just showed me how fun life could be. What it meant to have someone to talk to at 3am, even though I didn't do a lot of talking in those early days.

The view's still the same after all this time. I'm not though. Guess I'm grownup. That would be as good a word as any. It's funny though, considering I never got to be a child.

_Mature. _

Guess you have to be with a kid.

_(Small smile emerges) _

Damn, stupid smile across my face one of these days I'm gonna figure out how to deprogram that. Still that little boy…

He fell asleep in Logan's arms as we were watching reruns, then again what tv isn't reruns nowadays.

It's nice, this weird, domestic, grownup life. Playing on the floor with Cale as I tell Logan about the going ons at my job instead of hovering like I used to when filling him in on a case. Being warned that Cale just ate, so my raising him above me as I lay back on the floor isn't the smartest idea.

Eating dinner at five, instead of eight. Conversations not centering scandal, but instead trying to convince Cale the food on his plate is at good as the food on ours. Food always managing to somehow end up in my hair instead of in someone's mouth, Logan's soft chuckle as he picks it out for me.

Instead of lingering at the table, sitting on the floor and stimulating Cale's brain with all those stupid puzzle toys Logan buys for him. He's already a good six months ahead of his age group, why Logan pushes it further I don't know, that little boy of mine is going to surpass everyone soon enough.

Bath time instead of coffee on the couch. Instead of a game of chess or further work, there's tv with Cale resting in one of our arms, softly discussing the going ons in our life. Never Lanie or Jeff. There's a silent, unspoken vow to not do that to the other.

He does not need to hear it from my mouth that I kissed someone besides from him. That I kissed Jeff and it wasn't horrible. It wasn't him, but it wasn't how it was before. It wasn't doing something to fit in, not Darren, not Kyle, not any of the guys I was with even though I wasn't in heat, though most started out that way…It wasn't trying to be a normal girl. It was sweet, tender, hesitant as he leaned in. A soft kiss on what Original Cindy classified as our fifth date, though we haven't done anything more than hang out. Promises of not to push were made, "I like you Max" he said and I didn't want to gag like all the other times. No Logan doesn't need to know that.

He does not need to know as we tuck our son into bed as our eyes ended up lingering over each other that the lips that we are both focused on and missing have touched another's.

Things like that are how we keep our balance. Allowing our minds to focus on that too long will lead to jealousy and we can't handle that, everything is a balancing act. We can't be together so we need to be with others. Others to keep us apart, to not allow us to lean forward into that kiss when we so desperately desire it.

As our son is in my arms and I'm asking him how he got so messy, Logan brushing up against me to pick a pea out of my hair. The slight tremors of his arms brushing against mine for those few seconds before he steps back, the heat of his body as he still remains close, the hand that stays in my hair for seconds longer than it needs to. The focus of our eyes on each other, the love that's so clearly present each and every time. That smile that freezes along with our breath…

Our lives are a seesaw.

It's working though.

Everything seems to be working. This seesaw that is my life seems to be working, this weird, domestic, grownup life is on track. Of course, that's not to say that tomorrow White won't be at my door looking for some payback or the Chinese, rumor has it Seattle's been infiltrated with them, Manticore technology is still of very high value. All of that might happen and probably a dozen other things.

This view's still gonna be the same. It's become a permanent fixture of my life and it's not the only one.


	47. A Loss of Words

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**Chapter Forty-Seven **

_A Loss of Words_

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Later that same week (Max's apartment): 

Logan looked distracted as he put Cale down in the living room.

"Okay spill" She said as she stored the milk in the fridge having just come from shopping, she'd run into Logan outside of her building bringing over Cale and he'd barely said two words the entire way in.

He turned to Max's abrupt words, "I found a doctor Max."

She saw the disbelief in his eyes and realized he was telling the truth, her eyes mirrored his and her lip quivered, "Are you serious?"

He nodded, "I mean it isn't a cure. But…" He was still in shock; he had been for three hours now. Hearing the words, _'I think I might be able to help you.'_ He hadn't been prepared for them, he was so used to calling and tracking down the person for weeks before either being hung up on or being told 'I'm sorry I can't help you.' He'd expected that this time, even though it had been the first lead he'd gotten in months, he'd expected it, but those words _I think I might be able to help you._

Max laughed as the tears welled up in her eyes, "It's more than we've had in..." she shook her head, "I mean we might…"

"I know" he gave a shaky nod and sat down. "We shouldn't get our hopes up."

"Yea I know you're right, it'll probably just be another whack job like the last one. Even then I did most of the work."

"Yea and that was just twelve hours…" He still couldn't get his mind around this.

Max gave a shaky laugh as she moved around the kitchen looking for something to do besides look at Logan, "Yea imagine how screwed up we'd be if we ended up with another one of those."

"Yea" he said dropping his head down.

"Chances are we won't even end up with that." Max's voice betrayed her and the heartache slipped through.

"Hey, you never know." He said standing, needing to get out of the suddenly cramped apartment.

"Maybe we should just try to forget about this. You know not get our hopes up." Max swallowed hard

"Yea that would probably be for the best. Go about our normal lives." he nodded, "I really gotta be going." He looked down at their son, happily distracted by the Lincoln Logs, "Hey Cale" he looked up and smiled, "I'll see you later."

"Bye" his son returned, his attention already back on his building.

"I'll see you later Max" Logan said opening the door.

Max just silently nodded. She allowed a tremor to course through her body once the door shut and a shaky breath was released...

She set about cleaning up the dishes from breakfast, trying to force her mind off of the subject at hand.

A year and five weeks, five weeks and three days.

Months since she'd had any type of hope, hope that she had thought had died.

Judging from her inability to swallow now it hadn't. Not to mention the tears that were threatening to once more well up in her eyes.

'I found a doctor, Max.' Funny how similar that suddenly seemed to 'I love you, Max.'

She let out an unsteady laugh as her emotions and mind struggled with how to deal with this. Then came the startled stillness as she remembered the pain of sitting in that car hearing those words. That blinding, incredible pain…She hadn't wanted to go on, she was frozen there by her pain, by his pain, the enormity of it all.

She'd forgotten along with hope came pain. The pain that she'd lived with for so long until she let go of the hope. There wasn't any letting go of the hope now. Just prayers, she'd already gotten so many miracles, she felt guilty for asking for anything more. Someone out there had kept Logan in this world even though she'd been so sure his time had come. They'd given her a child, someone to heal all of the old pains, someone to love as she had always wanted to be loved. Just one more…

One more miracle that's all she was asking for. She didn't know if she would classify this as a miracle though, Logan surviving and Cale coming into her life, those were true miracles, she didn't doubt that. This was science, intelligence, there was never going to be a miracle for the cure, no suddenly touching him and it would be gone…

She set about finishing the dishes and straightening the apartment up, the constant cleanup that came with Cale was incredible. How someone who didn't even weigh thirty pounds could cause so much destruction was incredible. She took him in her arms as his naptime approached and settled back with him on the couch, easing him into sleep. She stretched out, suddenly needing a moment to rest herself.

_Her eyes started to flutter as she felt a kiss on her forehead and her hair being brushed back. _

_"You're going to get a crimp in your neck." The green eyes said into hers as she felt his hands lifting the weight of their son off of her chest. "Shhh Buddy," he whispered to their stirring son, "it's okay it's just me, let's go to your bed." _

_She pushed herself up as she watched _ _Logan__ disappear out of the living room; she started to follow him, but paused in his office. "He stay asleep?" She asked hearing _ _Logan__ approach behind her. _

_"Yea" he nodded as she turned. "I need you to take a look at this video and tell me if anything strikes you as odd." He said walking past her to his keyboard._

_"You woke me up for Eyes Only stuff?" She asked incredulously. _

_"No I woke you because you're cranky when you're not comfortable." _

_"I am not." _

_His eyes lowered and focused on hers before slightly shaking his head letting it go, "You gonna look at this or not Max?" _

_She laughed as she sat down, "What am I looking at?"_

The movement startled her, her son trying to escape her viselike grip with no success, just a lot of squirming. She loosened her arms and allowed him to slide off of her and onto the floor, she shook her head sitting up and sure enough there was a crimp in her neck. She smiled as she absentmindedly rubbed it watching her son digging through his toys for entertainment. Then she laughed at herself for her dream, only she would have a dream about doing work. She hadn't even gotten a real kiss, she didn't care about that though, she could easily give up sex for the rest of her life if she just got to have him in it, safe and alive, not to mention hers, everyday, all day hers.

"Everything's gonna work out kiddo." She said cupping the side of her son's face as he held up a book for her. Every time she looked at him she saw Logan, his facial expressions, his gaze had all been passed along to their son, no one would ever doubt his heritage even though it wasn't true in that sense. She scooped him up and held him close to her, the tiniest remaining of scent of Logan flooding her thoughts as she opened the book. She dropped a kiss to his head, "It's gonna be okay," she whispered.

"Bob" her son cried out in indignation, annoyed that his story was being forgotten.

"Okay okay" she smiled opening the book, he might have gotten Logan's expressions, but he'd gotten her patience.

"Scoop" he cried out and hit the page on which the bulldozer appeared.


	48. Random Moments in Time

**AN: Ugh, I**** just hate this chapter...It doesn't like me and I don't like it….Warning you in advance. Haha, okay besides from that thanks for reading...I hope this at least clears up any confusion I caused in the last chapter.  
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**Chapter 48 **

_Random Moments in Time_

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2 weeks later (Max's):

"So uh, Logan found a doctor." Max said casually as she and Original Cindy ate breakfast.

Original Cindy frowned, "What's wrong with him? Are his legs going again?"

Max shook her head; his legs were an odd subject all on their own. Every time his foot or leg would fall asleep they'd both just stare at it and wonder if it was the beginning of the end.

Original Cindy's mouth dropped, "Max, you don't mean a…"

Max nodded.

"Have you seen him? What did he say?"

"How do you know it's a he?" Max said trying to distract her friend.

"He, she, it I don't care, when do you see him?"

"Saw him last week, when he arrived in Terminal City. He's been at it for 9 days. Nothing so far." She wasn't surprised by that, the one thing they knew was this virus was adaptive.

"Hold up boo" Original Cindy raised a hand, "How long have you known about this guy?"

"13 days" Max said trying not to look guilty for not telling her friend earlier.

"And I'm just hearing about it now? Any why the hell were you suckin face with that nasty ol' Jeff guy last night?"

Max looked at her best friend in shock, five minutes ago OC had been oohin and ahhin over the guy, telling Max how much she liked him. "It was a good night kiss," she finally said with a shake of her head.

"Boo, you can hold off your carnal urges until this cure is complete."

_Her carnal what? _"You've got to be kidding me" she muttered shaking her head. She took a deep breath before she went off on her friend, who had forced her into dating in the first place. "Logan and I have decided to go about our normal lives."

Original Cindy gave a disbelieving look before shaking her head, "That's a recipe for destruction boo, trust your girl on this one."

"It's a recipe for how not to get my heart broken if this doesn't work."

"It'll work." Cindy said adamantly.

"You develop psychic powers I wasn't aware of?"

"How many times have I told you this virus bitch'll go down?"

"How many guys did you tell me to kiss to get over Logan?"

Original Cindy tilted her head, "Okay well that year thing Sug' it really wasn't looking good for ya'll. So how long until this guy comes up with something?"

"No idea, he might not come up with anything."

"Positive thoughts girl…Just think about it, you, Logan and Cale all around the Christmas tree." Original Cindy looked off into space picturing the happy family.

"That or visiting you in the pysch ward."

She came back down and glared at her friend.

-o-o-o-o-o-

2 weeks later (Sandeman's):

She lay back on the couch with her head titled to the side watching them play. Logan was building a skyscraper out of Lincoln Logs, trying to save it from the destruction of the bulldozer their son was pushing around.

"Trying to recreate your old place?"

He laughed looking down at his building, "Did I tell you I got an offer on it?"

"Really?" she sat up, "Are you taking it?"

He shrugged, "It's a good price, I probably won't get more, buyers are rare enough."

"But it's your apartment." _The memories she had of that place..._

"It's just a place." He shrugged his shoulders; it would be easier keeping the truth about Cale out in a new environment, where neighbors weren't a risk for sharing that Max had certainly never been pregnant.

"So you're just gonna stay here?" She knew Logan had managed to procure the deed a while ago, so no one would ever have a reason to come knocking at the door.

He turned and looked at her, "Josh doesn't want it, doesn't make sense to just walk away."

"So bye bye penthouse view?"

He smiled, "You don't like being able to look over and see the washer and dryer in the neighbors lawn?"

"Just a little hard to imagine that you're okay with it." She gave a small smile.

"Contrary to popular belief I'm not a snob."

"You said it," she smiled brighter, "not me."

"I like this place." He looked around the room, he would definitely be bringing over some of his furniture, but this place had become home. The tumbling logs caused him to turn back around, "Cale" he cried/laughed over the destruction of his building.

She and their son both laughed over the destruction and Logan, "Yea so I'm thinking he's gonna be more in the demolition field of construction."

Logan smiled up at her, knowing she was throwing his lofty plans for their son in his face; he'd had visions of Cale rebuilding Seattle when he'd first started with the logs until he realized he was only building them so he could knock them down.

"That reminds me did you tell Alec to stop trying to turn him into a prodigy?" She asked, Logan had told Max of Alec's attempts at trying to teach the toddler how the play the piano that resided in the living room.

"Alec learned the hard way, Cale only like bashing the keys."

"Thank god, the last thing we need is a little Mozart on our hands."

"You know Max," Logan said looking down at their son, who was still running his bulldozer over the logs and shoving them to the side, "I don't think we need to worry about that right now." He chuckled.

She nodded in agreement, his skill level might be slightly advanced at this point, but he was about as normal as a 21 month old could be.


	49. The Heart

Babyangel: the story was coming, just slooow going (Not to mention I did only post the last chapter like 2 days ago). I knew what I wanted to do a few chapters ahead, just not this one or the last one. This and Remnants are opened every time I go near Word. Remnants though, yea…It doesn't like me, reason why I had wanted to stop the story a few chapters back. I have a few snippets and the final chapters are complete, but adding real substance to those snippets just isn't working. I will try and focus again…Good news is, even if it doesn't work out the snippets just seem like a really quick fast forward in time. Gonna try to make it a normal story though, which is why I haven't given up and just posted them.

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**Chapter 49 **

_The Heart's Desire _

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The quick repetitions of "Ma" were starting to drive Original Cindy insane as she was applying the polish to Max's second hand. 

"Hold on Boo" She tried to reassure the toddler, who was trying to climb up onto the couch.

"He's not giving up." Max laughed pulling her hand away from Cindy; pretty sure no matter how hard she tried she was going to get the ivory polish on her son. "What is up with you buddy?" She asked dropping her legs to her side and leaning over to pick up Cale.

"What is up with him is he's becoming a spoiled brat." Original Cindy said with a shake of her head.

"He is not" Max adamantly defended.

Cindy rolled her eyes, "He's not only got you and Logan catering to his every wish, he gets it from Alec and yours truly."

"It's not that bad" Max said settling them on the floor to try to find a toy to distract him.

Original Cindy gave a slight shake of her head, "All I'm saying girl is it's a good thing you and Logan are putting this virus bitch"

Max quickly turned and cut her friend off, "You've got to stop saying that."

"What? Why?" she asked, the kid had been able to talk the whole time and their vocab had only slightly improved in that time.

Max stifled a laugh, "Because he said it to my boss."

"You brought him to work again?"

"Just a few minutes, Logan was stuck across town." Probably wasn't the smartest thing to do bringing your son into an Eyes Only mission, but it was pretty unlikely they'd ever figure out it was her providing the intel. Not to mention it was kinda nice the other girls oohing and awwing over Cale and then Logan.

"Anyway…" Cindy started over with a shake of her head, "It's a good thing you and Logan are putting this mean nasty old virus to bed because this little guy needs a sibling."

Max stopped fussing around with the toys and a small smile started to emerge on her face, in her mind she saw a little girl with dark blonde curls and green eyes sitting next to Cale on the floor.

"What color hair did she have?" Original Cindy asked drawing Max out of her trance, "Or was she too young for hair?"

"Dark blonde," Max gave a laughing smile as she stood, "and Logan's eyes."

"What do you have with your kids looking like Logan and not you?"

She laughed again and wondered when exactly this whole kid part of her life had started. God she'd just wanted Logan and only Logan for so long, now she wanted it all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hey there" Lanie called out as Alec walked in on his lunch hour.

The place was decently full, especially since they allowed people to eat their packed lunches inside, provided it didn't happen too frequently. "Hey" Alec smiled back and moved to take a seat at the counter.

"The usual?"

"No you know what just give me a grilled cheese today. Don't want to spoil my appetite for later." He smiled.

"Are you going trick or treating with Cale?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Apparently that qualifies as using the kid. First I can't use the kid to pick up women and now I can't use the kid to score some candy."

"Poor Alec" she pouted as she walked along the counter with the coffee pot. "You going to The Cellar tonight?" she asked.

"Are you asking if I'm going or are you asking if Logan's going?" he swiveled in his chair as she walked past the counter out to the other diners.

She shook her head and smiled.

"Cause I might go for awhile, Logan probably not."

She briefly nodded and Alec actually felt bad for a moment. He was pretty sure though Logan had given her the 'I don't think I'm ready speech' even before he'd found a doctor.

The bell on the door jingled and his eyes immediately moved towards it and walking in was Asha. The blonde hair longer and more tamed from the weight, her black jacket was open to reveal a mid-drift baring white shirt accompanying a pair of jeans. Her eyes found his almost immediately and she headed over, as he remained seated, _he wasn't going to chase her again._

"Asha what a surprise" he brightly grinned a phony smile.

"Hi Alec" she said reserved.

"So what brings you by?"

"I was just with Logan."

_Logan_, goddammit he hated that name, the guy might be his best male friend out here, but fuck it if he didn't hate the guy.

"He thought we should talk."

"Really?" he said with a single nod of his head.

"Yea" she said softly, "So this seat taken?"

"Go right ahead" he waved his hand and turned back in his seat as she sat.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Where's Alec?" Max asked walking into Logan's living room, viewing his dressed to go form. Cale had already broken free from her hand the moment she'd opened the door and run to greet his father.

"With Asha. Where's his hat?" He said taking in his son's construction outfit and hammer, but the plastic yellow hard hat they'd found was missing.

"In my bag," she scrunched up her face, "he threw it off while we were on the bus. Kinda hit someone."

Logan contained his laugh, "Please tell me you didn't laugh."

"I tried my best?" she offered.

He laughed, "So where's Original Cindy?" he asked lifting up his son so they could get a move on and get over to Terminal City.

"She's meeting us there. Are you trying to get out of telling me why Alec is with Asha?"

"Shut the door behind you." He asked as he walked out the front door.

"Did you talk to Asha again?" She probed.

He turned with a smile peaking out of the corners of his mouth, "It was you, Max."

"What was me?"

"The fight" he tried to bite back a laugh, Alec and Max had both accused him of being the reason for the fallout.

"How was their fight about me?"

"She was jealous, apparently ever other word out of Alec's mouth was Max this, Max that."

"You're kidding." She said with all seriousness.

He chuckled as he started walking to the car, "Probably wasn't as bad as she made it seem. But 'Max'll kill me if we screw up the brownies' was the final breaking point."

"How the hell did I get involved in this?" Max asked with her mouth still open in shock.

Logan shook his head lowering Cale into the car seat, "No idea."

She opened the door on the other side and leaned against it, "He really would have looked cute as a kitten or a puppy." She sighed, thinking of her first instincts into what to make their son into for Halloween, ignoring his own favorite.

He looked up smiling at the fact that Max had wanted to transform their son into something cuddly and cute, _she was going soft on him._

"I know, would have offended too many people. Would have been cute though." She suddenly looked up at him over the rooftop as he shut the door and realized what she was saying, "I think I need to break into a building or something. Set up some bad guys to take a fall?"

"I think so" he nodded.


	50. Dreams and Nightmares

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**Chapter 50 **

_Dreams and Nightmares _

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_A few weeks later:_

She left the door open a crack after putting her son to bed. Her sensitive ears would have picked up any off noise in the room even if the door was shut, but he'd gotten into the habit at Logan's and would burst into tears if the door was completely shut and he was left in the dark.

"Little bugger asleep?" Cindy asked walking into the apartment some time later coming in from Crash.

"Conked out on the couch."

"How was your day off?" she asked dropping onto the couch next to Max.

"Not bad. Logan met us at the park."

"Isn't it getting a little cold to be playing outside?"

"It's not too bad. Logan worked up a sweat running up and down everything." Max gave a satisfied grin thinking of Logan on the gym equipment chasing after Cale, who always seemed to be one-step away from disaster as apparently all toddlers were. Not that she hadn't been chasing after Cale like an idiot too, constantly after him with her hands out to brace him if he fell back. 'First time parents' she'd hear all the time.

"Alec move out yet?"

She shook her head, Alec and Asha had been making some weird type of inroads with their relationship, but he'd been pretty closed mouthed about the whole thing. "Still there eating all of Logan's groceries."

"Hmm"

"Anything interesting happen at work?" Max asked trying to prolong their conversation.

Original Cindy shook her head and frowned, amazed there was nothing actually interesting to talk about, "Sketchy has another date with that new girl."

"That's it?"

Another frown, "Yea it's been a slow week. Even Ronnie's been on good behavior."

Max joined in with a frown before settling into a smile remembering OC's story from the previous week of Ronnie's bottle opening all over Normal's papers…_Damn she missed her old job._

They sat in silence for another moment, "Next time we're at Logan's I'll distract Alec while you swipe his tv."

Max pouted as she nodded, "It's a plan."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

She dropped a kiss down to Cale's sleeping head before she moved around to the other side of the bed and slid in between the sheets. She knew the dreams that awaited her with sleep. They had been the same for almost two months. They would involve Logan. Her patience was wearing thin at this point. She wanted a cure. She didn't want to hear '_it's slow going_ 'anymore, she didn't want to hear _'it's tricky.'_ She knew those things and she didn't care, she just wanted the man who was awaiting her in sleep in real life.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_His face was before hers. _

The twinkling eyes, the slightly cocky and always all knowing smile bathed in the light.

The lips were coming closer and then she felt them upon hers. Her fingers found their way into his hair.

"I love you." She whispered over and over, occasionally separating enough to see his face and see his eyes looking so deeply into hers she was sure he could see every thought, down to the deepest part of her.

His hair changed in her fingers, the lips hardened…She pulled back confused to see White's dark eyes instead of Logan's caring ones.

She shook her head and stepped back.

"Haven't you missed me 452?"

"No" she murmured and shook her head.

Logan was before her again, "Max, what's wrong?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by White's face before her again.

"Come on 452, your boyfriend isn't here to save you this time."

She shook her head and saw Logan's face in the darkness for a brief moment before it was replaced by White's. She closed her eyes and shook her head again, opening her eyes to still see White before her.

"Good, this wouldn't have been any fun if you hadn't been awake for it." His hands came down around her neck and she thrashed for a second and realized she wasn't dreaming anymore as her eyes connected with her son's scared blue ones.

She couldn't scream, she couldn't cry out for him to run, not as White was crushing her throat. Her strength was greater than his; she knew that, but not right now. He'd gotten the upper hand because she'd been sleeping, her body was pinned her throat was being crushed.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of him after I take care of you."

She almost managed to dislodge him as she bucked against him that time. It was enough to give her son a jolt and startle the silent toddler enough for him to drop himself off the bed and run out of the room_. Oh god OC please just take him and run…Please don't try to help…_Tears would have formed in her eyes if she wasn't fighting for her life, tears besides those that had already formed as her body was being robbed of breath.

"Max?" She heard Original Cindy's tentative voice over her son's tears, "Hush Sug, Auntie Cyn's gonna go chase away all those boogey men."

"You took it all away from me 452, I'm gonna return the favor."

His slight distraction from Original Cindy's voice, finally gave her the chance to break free. Throwing him off of her, she didn't even pause drawing in breath while going straight after him, she would not allow him to get another heads up on her. "You really should know better Amsey," she mocked him before screaming, "Take Cale and get out of here OC."

"Cale?" he smirked as they fought, "He's next on my list."

"Should have just let Josh finish the job last time, not making that same mistake twice White." She said in a slight groan as she came after him again after being thrown into her dresser and cracking it in two.

The fight continued, furniture was smashed, windows broken, drapes torn down, but it stayed in the room. White was smirking at her as she held her stance after kicking him in the face; he was wiping the blood from the side of his mouth. The next thing she knew he was going sideways, she saw him falling even before the sound registered in her mind. She turned to see Original Cindy standing in her doorway with the gun still aimed.

"Is he dead?" she asked tentatively looking over at the body.

"Ya shot him in the head, I think so."

"Oh" she said as she let out a breath and let the gun fall to her side.

"I really had it covered OC." Max said glancing between her pajama clad roommate, whose hair was still wrapped for bed and her former nemesis lying dead on the floor.

"I really like having walls." Original Cindy said turning and rolling her eyes.

"Where the hell did you get a gun and where's Cale?" Max said suddenly coming out of her shock of seeing her roommate blow someone away and remembering her frightened son.

"Oooh Logan gotta call him back." She turned out of the room, "Cale's in my closet."

Max followed Original Cindy out of the room and rushed past her into the other room, "Mama" Cale cried as she opened the door with outstretched his arms.

"Oh it's okay baby." She said holding him and rubbing his back.

Original Cindy followed her into the room and still in shock was looking down at the bed where she'd thrown the phone after making a frantic phone call to Logan as she realized what was going on, to the gun resting in her hand. She took a deep breath as she looked around the gun for where to place the gun out of Cale's reach. She gingerly placed it on a dresser before picking up the phone, her fingers only slightly unsteady as she punched in the numbers as Max continued to try to soothe Cale.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Both women turned in shock at the sound of the breaking door and Alec entering the apartment.

"You just busted up my door." Original Cindy said stunned by the amount of damage that had been done to their place in such a short amount of time.

"You're a little late Alec, it's all over. And you're gonna fix that." She nodded towards the door.

"What happened?" he asked glancing around the room seeing nothing out of place. He'd been woken up by Logan and hadn't even had time to react just throw on sneakers and a shirt over his pajama bottoms.

"White's dead in my room."

"Nice going Maxie" he said with a smile as he walked towards her room to check it out.

"Wasn't me, OC here decided to plug him with a 45."

"I stand corrected, nice going Original Cindy." Alec said looking into the room, "So was he kicking your ass?" he asked Max with a haughty grin.

"He was not kicking my ass." She glared.

"Whatever you say Maxie."

Logan arrived a few minutes later having taken his cell phone with him unlike Alec, he'd slowed down knowing the threat was over and there was no reason to be pulled over, he looked down at the busted door as he walked into the apartment.

"Alec was a little over-eager."

"I thought you were being killed Max." Alec said defending his actions not for the first time since he'd arrived.

Logan nodded, while walking into the apartment and glancing into Max's room and seeing the destruction, "Wow." He looked back out at everyone and like the room, they were standing in; they didn't appear to have a scratch on them.

"Dada" his son cried, still shaken by the events.

"Hey Buddy" he said walking over and taking Cale into his arms. "You get scared?" he asked dropping a kiss down on his head. Just then, he saw the handprints around Max's neck, "Are you okay?" he raised a gloved hand to Max's neck.

She raised her hand up touching his, still decently stunned by the events of the last half hour she hadn't even thought about the marks on her neck. "Yea I'm fine."

"I called Zen and Vida."

_Cleanup right_, disposal of White's body, she nodded still amazed none of her neighbors had called the cops. "You should get Cale out of here."

He dug into his pockets and pulled out his keys as he walked over to Cindy, "Can you take Cale back to my place?"

"Not a problem" she said taking the little boy into her arms looking relieved to be getting out of there.

"Bye sweetie" Max said walking over and dropping a kiss on his head and watched as Cindy left the apartment, still in her pajamas and slippers with her hair wrapped.

She turned back to Logan and Alec who were staring into the room, discussing what to do, "You gave Original Cindy a gun?" She suddenly remembered to be annoyed. "When the hell did you give her a gun?"

"South Africans killed her landlord." He said simply, refusing to feel guilty. "Where's the van parked?" he asked her quickly moving on.

"End of the block." She answered back about one of the van's they'd use in missions and simple food transports that was kept by her place in case she needed to go somewhere with Cale in a rush, though she rarely used it.

"Well let's get cleaning folks." Alec said shaking his head, "Garbage bags Maxie?" He asked walking towards the kitchen.

"Under the sink."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Night guys" Alec said as they entered the house.

"Night" they both responded even though the sun would be coming up in just a few hours.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink." Logan said turning to her.

"I think we could use the whole bottle at this point." Max said dryly.

He chuckled as he led the way to the kitchen.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Max poked her bed into Cale's room after they made their way upstairs some time later, "He must be in bed with Cindy," she said viewing the empty bed. Her roommate would be in the newly created guest bedroom of the house, since the furniture from Logan's apartment had been brought over last week.

They lingered in the hallway between the two rooms for a few moments, neither wanting to say goodnight so pointless conversation was traded. Cale emerged at the end of the hallway, awoken by his parents' soft voices.

"Mama" was the soft whimper that came out of his mouth as he made his way sleepily to them. His normal blinding adoration for his father above everyone else forgotten after tonight's events.

"Oh hey buddy," she said softly walking over and lifting him up close to her.

"Daddy" he softly murmured from the safety of his mother's arms as his head rested on her shoulder.

Logan smiled as he placed the gloved hand on his son's back.

"We should probably go back to bed." She nodded, her eyes connected with Logan's.

She watched his mouth open, they both knew the words that he was going to speak, but he stopped himself, "Goodnight" he said instead of inviting her to stay with him instead of Original Cindy. "Night Cale." He said raising his hand up to stroke the back of their son's head.

"Night Logan." She nodded and ordered herself to walk away and not turn back into his arms. _Patience_, she reminded herself.

The problem was she wasn't really a patient person, turns out neither was Logan. She turned as she was about to walk into the room and Logan was emerging from his room again. They met up halfway down the hall.

"I don't wanna wake." She began

As he began, "You'll probably wake."

They both smiled and turned back towards Logan's room.

* * *

AN: I hoped that worked for you guys. I saw it in my head, but I don't know if it worked on paper. Thanks for reading! 


	51. A House Into A Home

**Haha, yes Alec wears PJ bottoms while living in ** **Logan****'s house. If you want to think of any back stories that would make ** **Logan**** insist on that, feel free because you know I've got one running through my head now. **

* * *

**Chapter 51 **

_A House Into A Home _

* * *

**Thanksgiving 2021 (** **Logan****'s House): **

"You'll burn yourself" Asha said walking up behind Alec as he peered into the open oven and at the turkey as he debated trying to get a piece of skin off of it.

He shot up and let the oven door slam, "What is it with you women?"

"Us women?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

_Oh god,_ he hoped this wasn't going to be another brownie incident, no one would ever forgive him if he got all of the Thanksgiving side dishes dumped on him, "Max just said the same thing to me."

Asha laughed, "That's because Logan caught her doing the same thing not long ago."

He chuckled, "Where'd they disappear to?" He'd heard them go out the front door a few minutes ago.

"Cale was getting a little hyperactive with all the attention," she shook her head thinking of the little tyke running around like a maniac with Joshua. "So they took him for a walk to calm down."

"What is he a dog?" Alec asked making a face.

She smiled gently, "I think Logan wanted to get Max out of the house, she was hovering over Josh."

"He seems to be doing fine." He nodded in the direction of the living room where he heard Joshua's boisterous talk over everyone else's. They'd all been worried about Josh coming back to the old house, but so far so good. "So how are we doing?" he asked with another nod.

She smiled, "You haven't ended up with squash on your head yet have you?"

"That's why the sweet potatoes tasted so funny," he smiled back and took her in his arms; he had no idea where they were going, no idea if they would last. It was kind of nice actually, he had no idea what it was, but it was kinda nice, _kinda normal._

"Oh gross" Max walked in some time later and made a disgusted look. "No making out by the food. You have a room."

"Max if you're swiping," Original Cindy said bumping into the back of Max, she too stopping to check out Alec and Asha's embrace. "What the hell, you've got a room upstairs."

"Look just because neither of you are getting any."

Asha disengaged from his arms and stepped back and he looked at her confused, "You thought brownie mix was bad?" She said knowing that pissing off any two females wasn't smart, let alone Max and Original Cindy.

He turned back to see two angry females still glaring at him, "Crap" was all he said.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**December 19th 2021**

"Looks like it's naptime." Original Cindy said walking into the kitchen where Max was doing dishes.

Max looked over confused from the pile of dishes still awaiting her attention. They definitely needed to stop having parties here because the cleanup from 3 in just over a month was starting to get annoying. Thank god Christmas was going to be a TC event.

She tucked back a blonde wave with a wet hand. She was used to the hair by now, she had no choice, it was part of her life for at least a few more months. She'd gone back to Jam Pony despite everyone's protests, White hadn't seemed to have any connection with the Cult in the past few months…It was probably as close to safe as it was ever going to be. She liked her job and she liked her friends, not to mention Logan had taken down all the good tippers at Tony's.

"I thought Logan told you to leave those." Original Cindy said looking over at Max's task.

"He did," she said drying her hands, "I was just trying to help out. Not to mention he cooked."

"That boy man a damn good cake. Is there any left?" she looked around the kitchen.

Max just laughed, _when was there ever any leftover dessert? _She slid her dry hands into a pair of gloves. "Alec sounds pretty melancholy." She said listening to the music drifting to the walls, "I thought he and Asha were good." The couple had seemed fine, but then again they had only been living together for 5 days, though it did break their previous record.

"I think it's just because the little boo's asleep. Why don't you go and put him to bed, I'll finish up in here."

"You…" Max halfheartedly tried to turn down her friend.

"Yea yea" Original Cindy said waving her away. "Go put the birthday boy down."

"Thanks" Max called over her shoulder as she headed out of the room.

She smirked as she saw Logan on the couch going over some papers with Cale asleep, using his thigh as a pillow, the bundle of balloons still wrapped around his hand.

Logan looked up and gave a slightly guilty smile_. It wasn't as if Cale was uncomfortable._

She shook her head before she bent down to unwrap the strings from Cale's tiny hand. He shook his head and grumbled something in his sleep; the balloons floating in the air had been entertaining him on and off all afternoon, he'd occasionally pass them off to others, but would cry every time they floated away from him.

Alec turned for this and chucked softly, "Anyone notice how he likes my gift the best?" Of course, he'd spent half of his day scouring the city for helium and had almost knocked Sketch sideways when he'd inhaled one of the balloons to talk like Donald Duck.

"Where'd you find helium anyway?" Max asked as she held her sleeping son against her chest, the balloons floating above them.

He gave her a smile, "I have my ways."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**Christmas: **

Patience is a virtue.

Slow and steady wins the race.

God she knew all the damn sayings, just living with them was an entire other story. How many times had she and Bling tried to remind Logan of them? Another word overrode those little pearls of wisdom.

_Fast _

She remembered the look he'd given her as he'd said 'I want to go fast.' And right about now remembering that was making her feel like she was in heat. Heat of the past and not the slight urge that still accompanied that time despite the pills.

_Patience. _

She tried to remember that word as she watched Logan outstretched on the floor having an in depth conversation with their son over the train that circled the tree. As occasionally he would lose focus on Cale and look up and smile at her before returning back to his conversation about how fast the train could go and what the train could carry…

_Patience Max._ She ordered herself. She once more pushed her attention back to her and Bling…Of course maybe that would have more of an effect if Logan's legs hadn't been restored to him because of one rash moment. _The last time she'd felt his skin upon hers…_Had there even been a millisecond she'd been able to enjoy the normality of it?

_Come on Max, slow and steady, _she pulled herself out of the self-pity mode. The doctor was making progress, _sure it's not as quick as you want it to be, but progress is progress. _

She'd given up trying not to plan for the future. Not eagerly anticipating the day…That had lasted for about a month, well the intense pushing those thoughts to the side, the little thoughts had managed to slip through from the moment she'd found out there was hope again. Gradually more and more had slipped in and she gave into another one while watching them.

_Christmas next year…_Cale descending on them in the morning, kisses under the mistletoe, curled up with Logan as Cale opened gifts on his own, no longer needing as much of their help. Sentences that consisted of more than two or three words…

_God preschool,_ Cale would probably be in preschool. It was hard to get your kid into preschool now, only a few public schools offered it and the last thing she was going to allow was Cale to go to some snooty school. Logan would find an opening though, her little boy would be in school half days next year…_No_ she shook her head, _that was definitely not happening_. He still wore diapers and occasionally still used his bottle and binky, though those were pretty nonexistent. She definitely wasn't sending her son off to school before he turned three. That was just unacceptable and she was pretty sure the school would agree even if Logan didn't. One year of preschool, that would just have to be enough.

The thought of her baby not being her baby anymore would have filled Max with a complete panic except for the fact that it meant that he was growing up and she loved watching him change and grow, she loved how he learned new words everyday, his vocabulary far surpassing Sketchy's at this point.

She liked the baby things though, she liked him curled into her; she missed him falling asleep in her arms as she fed him. A smile passed her lips as she envisioned a cradle tucked in next to the couch this time next year, a small warm body, smaller than she'd ever known Cale's to be resting in her arms…

She let out a silent sigh and the smile fell, she refrained from shaking her head, it was official she was a damn softy.

"Definitely not supposed to be raining on Christmas. White Christmas, not gray." Original Cindy declared walking into the room dressed to go over to Terminal City for the rest of the day.

"You ready to go?" Max asked with a laugh.

"Yea" she replied.

"Wait" she said a few minutes later as they all started to head out the door. "Where are his antlers?" She ducked back into the living room.

"You're not putting those back on." Logan said holding his son closer.

"There are definitely no reindeer in Terminal City for us to offend." Max said supporting OC's cause, not to mention she'd been half of the guilty party who'd found them at the flea market.

"Anyway he likes them" Original Cindy said walking back out holding them, "Don't you boo?" She asked as she put them on him.

"Horns" he smiled as he raised his hand up to touch them.

The girls just both looked at Logan, their case having been proven.

"I'm sorry kid," Logan said softly as he followed the women out of the house, "I tried."

* * *

**Yea sorry, just a passing time chapter. Next one will actually have a point.**


	52. This Is Not

idlehands452: Oh my god I can't believe you read this all the way through, I can't do that anymore and I already know what's on the page. Wow, thanks though it might have been your longest review, but it was one of those reviews that left a smile on my face for quite some time.

Babyangel: Had to give the kid your bday since I off-ed the other kid on it.

Gingersnap: I'm sorry I tricked you on the Reflections board thinking there was a new chapter, I got distracted the night before and forgot to post it then.

* * *

**Chapter 52 **

_This is not… _

* * *

Mid-January: 

"No, no, no" Normal said shaking his head as he watched Max walk in with Cale perched on her hip as she pushed her bike.

"Oh come on Normal."

"No, this is not a daycare."

"He's better behaved than Sketchy."

"She's right" Sketch said nodding his head as he was pushing his bike out past them, "Morning runt." He said ruffling Cale's hair.

"Just because I had one lapse in judgment doesn't mean I'm having another."

"It's just for a few; Logan's tied up doing something." She didn't have any idea what, Logan had sounded off on the phone, rushed, distant, telling her he'd get over as soon as he could. She'd offered to be late for work and drive over and drop off Cale with Josh in the clunker Logan had passed onto her once it was safe again to drive Bessie, though with new plates that wouldn't be traced back to him. He swore it wasn't necessary and that he'd be at Jam Pony soon, TC wasn't the kind of place you could just run in and out of. Even if it didn't still take skill to get in unnoticed, everyone always seemed to stop you once you were inside and the amount of people always doubled when you were in a rush.

"I can't believe this" he muttered as Max walked around to put Cale on the floor by Normal, next to the playpen where Ronnie was sitting up and playing. "Wait why are you putting him on the floor?" he exclaimed

"He's two…You can't trap him in that thing anymore."

"Oh no, I'm not having some little kid running around here."

"Normal" she said on a sigh, forcing herself not to lose her temper.

"Insurance reasons Max."

Max stuck her head out over his counter, "Everyone promise not to run over my kid?"

A chorus of 'Sure Max, not a problem Max, and yea's' came back.

"Problem solved. Unless you want me to stick around until Logan comes to pick him up."

Normal controlled himself, not to mention things always went smoother once Max was out of the building, "1245 Willobury" he tossed her a package off the counter.

She smiled and ducked down, "Be good for Normal baby" and she pulled a truck out of her backpack for him.

"Vroom" he said making it fly through the air.

"That's what you should be doing missy." He said looking down at the scene.

"Yea yea I'm going." She kept the smile hidden; she wasn't the only one becoming a softy in their old age.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Logan was standing on the street opening his car door as she approached Jam Pony; she sped over, "Hey is everything okay?" she asked hopping off her bike.

"Yea everything's fine. I'm sorry, I just got tied up."

"No biggie. You missed a good time at Crash last night."

"Yea," he nodded, "Original Cindy was just telling me about it."

She'd tried to talk him into dropping Cale off with Josh or having Josh come over and stay with Cale at his place with no luck, he'd kept pleading work. She'd seen it in his eyes that he'd wanted to go. God, she had fun out with him, even if she wasn't talking to him, just knowing that he was across the way…Making faces, giving him looks…She was a bad parent, no doubt about it, wanting to spend time with Logan overrode the guilt of handing Cale off to Josh for an evening. Then again considering Joshua spoiled him silly every time…

"You should probably get going." He said with a nod over to the building.

"Right work." She remembered nodding, "I'll see you later?"

"6"

"Bye sweetie" she placed her hand on the back window.

He smiled and waved his hands in the air, "Buh Bye" he answered back.

"Later" she called out as she walked away, catching his smile just before her head turned.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Max's Apartment:

Logan swallowed hard once Max walked back over to the kitchen area after dropping Cale down over by his toys after greeting him hello. He had no choice he had to say the words, he'd been trying to figure out all day how to say them and he couldn't think of any, he didn't know how he was supposed to say this, so he said it simply, "He's gone Max"

She turned, completely unaware what he was talking about, "Who's gone?"

"Zutoni left this morning for Canada." The doctor was gone, despite everything he'd offered, he'd pleaded with him this morning, pleaded after a three days of trying to convince him.

_The doctor was gone? _"What happened? Did he want more money? We can get him more money." desperation slipped out of her voice and it tore his already battered heart in two.

"That wasn't it Max, he said he couldn't do it, he's been at for almost four months."

"No, no he can do it. He said he'd been making progress last month with the temporary cure, a way to alter that."

Logan shook his head and gave a harsh laugh, "Yea he managed to make one for 27 hours instead of 12."

Her face fell, "He made another temporary fix?"

Logan nodded and swallowed hard again.

"If he could do that, then he…"

Logan shook his head, "He said he'd continue trying to work on it, but he doubts he'll ever come up with anything. The virus was too complex for him."

"Aren't you glad we didn't stop living our lives? Because if it hurts like this now…" She'd sworn to herself, to him, to everyone that she wouldn't plan out every detail of their future, she wouldn't pin all of her hopes and dreams on it, but she had, she hadn't meant to, but she had.

"Max" he placed a hand on her shoulder, a gloved hand. She couldn't bear the touch of it.

"I'm fine Logan." She shrugged it off without thinking, without realized how far she regressed with that single movement, she saw the hurt in his eyes.

"I should probably go"

She nodded and wished she could call out to him and tell him to stop, but she couldn't open her mouth, she couldn't form the words. All she wanted was to just stop everything and just curl into his arms forever. Stop the blinding pain that was so intense she couldn't even cry. Just stand there frozen still staring at the door that had just shut behind him.

Minutes passed and she was still standing there chillingly numb and achingly in pain at the same time.

"Wanna cookie" Cale's blue eyes looked up at her hopefully.

She blinked and swallowed hard as she plastered a bright smile on her face, "You just had dinner silly, you can't be hungry already."

"Cookie peez"

The please was always her breaking point if she was going to have one. "Half a cookie?"

He smiled brightly and repeated "Cookie" as he saw her going into the jar for one.

She watched him take off leaving a trail of crumbs behind him; she had been forgotten as soon as the cookie had been placed in his hands. She looked down at the broken other half in her hand and dropped it back into the jar with disgust. She wiped the crumbs off on her jeans before it hit. She didn't fall to the floor, she just crumpled over the counter as the silent tears wracked her body.

* * *

**Okay thinking you guys might hate me now. I'm sorry. Once more I'm not responsible, I am not the type of writer who has any real control over the story. I love fluff and happiness I swear, every movie I own is a chick flick. **


	53. What Remains

* * *

**Chapter 53 **

_What Remains _

* * *

A few days later: 

_Polite_

That's the word she would use for them now. Achingly polite. The ease that had been present between them for months upon months was gone. They were in an entirely new realm of existence._ It wasn't like letting go before..._

Before she had come back from the dead and they had only been on the cusp of starting it all. She walked away to save his life the second time. The third time she had been letting go of a dream. That night after the living room, they had been saving themselves from this kind of pain. _The pain of almost having it all and then having it ripped out of their arms… _

They still smiled, they still joked, shared meals, outings, but they couldn't touch.

The presence of the glove, the weight of the hand only served to remind them of everything they didn't get to have.

Neither mentioned the temporary fix.

_If it hurt like this now..._ Waking up from the dreams again that had remained, the dreams of happily ever after, into the reality that they would ever have it…

How it had hurt every time they had a little and had to walk away. They couldn't do it anymore. They both knew that. They had been broken apart and taped back together so many times. _One more fall..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A few more days: 

The beer had been going down easily. The night however wasn't. Jealousy, anger, pain...Heart wrenching pain...Seeing her with Jeff again...Seeing her with anyone that wasn't him. It should have been easier than it was with Alec. Somehow knowing that he was still first in her heart made it worse though. She loved him. She loved him, yet she…

The image of her sitting up on the table laughing at something the other guy had said was burned into his memory. Nothing was going on between them; he knew that. She and Jeff had been friends that had never stopped. It would happen again though; the familiarity would lead to more…

He had never been a jealous man before Max; logic ruled his heart along with his brain. _The sight of her hair tumbling in front of her face as she laughed though_…He'd wanted to kill the X-5. There wasn't a single logical thought involved in it.

Lanie smiled at him and he returned it, wondering if it looked as empty as it felt. Judging from that small silent chuckle that slid from her lips in a puff of breath, he was guessing it didn't. The ease that had managed to return with that first small kiss had disappeared. _He couldn't get Max out of his thoughts. _

Lanie had forgiven him, looked at him with sympathy, apparently she'd asked Alec why Max hadn't been to the Cellar with him at all in the past two weeks. She'd often gone with him for awhile to say hi to Zen, leaving Cale with Alec or Original Cindy. They'd stopped spending time alone like that. In crowds they were fine, but the alone car rides, the table they'd be tucked away at talking, ignoring everyone else were gone.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Max."

He nodded at the words he'd been expecting all night since Alec told him she knew. _What had she thought?_ He wondered. _He and Max were giving it another go for the sake of their son? _"It happens" he replied brusquely.

She looked worried; confused she'd said the wrong words because of his tone of voice.

He felt like an ass, "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, "just wasn't the first time it happened."

She softened, "Well I'm sorry anyway."

He studied her expression in that brief moment and realized she wasn't lying, "Thank you."

She nodded gently accepting his words, "We were almost friends once."

He nodded back, "We are friends."


	54. Hopes and Dreams

* * *

**Chapter 54 **

_Hopes and Dreams _

* * *

February 7th ( Logan's House):

"What?" he said not even looking up from the monitor feeling her eyes upon him.

"What what?" Max asked from the floor where she was playing with Cale.

"Why were you looking at me like that?" he smiled turning, he wasn't as oblivious working as she always thought he was.

Her face softened and their eyes connected, "It's been a year since the transfusion."

_A year since the last time we touched, _the thought ran through both of their heads at that moment and they both looked away quickly.

"I thought we were skipping this anniversary?" He replied with his eyes focused on the computer ahead of him, his fingers moving over the keyboard, if the words that were appearing on the screen made any sense he had no idea, but they were appearing.

"No I mean your legs have been fine for a year." That's where she'd been going with this whole thing, watching him push back in his chair with them, watching him stand to grab papers, pacing on the phone. _His strong and steady legs._

He gave her a look.

"I know you don't want to know, but I mean a year Logan." She'd asked him over the year to go talk to Bev, he'd always said it wasn't necessary that they'd know one way or another eventually, nothing would change that.

"Probably just means it's coming to an end soon." He had been waiting, waiting since they'd come back to him. Wondering if they were for real or not, wondering if he could get attached to his own legs again. Sam had warned him not to, so he had taken them for what they were a gift that he didn't know how long he'd have. Every time one would fall asleep he'd wonder if it was the end. Every time his legs would feel weaker than normal at the end of a run he'd wonder if he'd even be able to walk the next day.

"Or it means you're fine," she pointed out. "A year is a long time Logan. Don't you just want to know one way or another?"

He shook his head and tried to return his focus to the screen, "Not really, no."

"What are you so afraid of Logan?" She asked gently partly because of everything that was still slightly off between then and partly because she remembered who he had been in the past and what his legs had meant to him then, "You keep telling me you're going to end up back in that chair, go to Bev, let her tell you what's going on."

He paused and looked at her, not really knowing what it was he wanted to say, "There's still hope this way Max." He shook his head, "When the hope is gone Max so are my dreams of me teaching Cale how to hit a baseball, how to play soccer... All those dreams, all those plans for the future they're gone. I mean I know they aren't going to happen, but I can still dream about them as long as I can keep my hope."

"That doesn't make it any easier." Her voice and expression were blank.

His head dropped away as he realized it hadn't only been his legs he was really talking about.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

February 10th: 

Ease had returned in full, ease with heartbroken looks on the rare occasion that hadn't been meant to be caught by the other. He'd done what she suggested and saw Beverly, she'd wanted to come and he knew the reason why, _in case it was bad news._ He'd gone the day after she'd suggested it, now he was just waiting for the results. Right now though the only thing really on his mind was dinner, dinner with Max and Cale.

"Keep stirring" he smiled ordering Max as he handed her the wooden spoon as he went to go answer the ringing phone.

"Burn the sauce once and he never lets you forget it." She smiled over to Cale who was trying without success to open a cabinet, she didn't bother trying to stop him, she knew he'd give up in a few.

Logan smirked as he picked the phone off the counter, "Hello? Hi Beverly" He was listening without any change in his facial expression leaving her completely in the dark and trying not to stare. A loud siren suddenly filled the air from the toy that had distracted Cale away from the cabinet and they both grimaced. Logan raised up a finger to cover his uncovered ear, "Yea just hold on a second Bev, I can't hear you." He said as he made his way to the door. A pop from the sauce burning her skin through her sleeve snapped Max's attention away from the closed door and the words she couldn't hear because the siren still rang throughout the room.

He reentered the once more silent room a few minutes later with a somber look on his face.

She hated herself in that moment, why had she told him to have the tests? _Hadn't she remembered what it had done to him the last time?_ " Logan I'm sorry"

He looked over at her confused "Why?"

"Didn't she say your body was fighting it or rejecting it? Or whatever it is your body does" It was slightly rambled, rushed as she was still cursing herself for being an idiot. Logan and his legs, she'd had 9 months of experience with them_, she should have known better. _

He shook his head, shock present in his voice, "No, she said that if she hadn't known there had been any damage she wouldn't have been able to tell. Joshua's cell's became my own. My legs are…they're just like they were before."

The elation that wanted to surge through Max was halted by her confusion, "Then why do you look so sad."

He shook his head "It doesn't matter, they don't matter" he looked down at his legs "Not the tiniest bit. It's nice to know I can physically teach Cale things like soccer or hockey, but I mean, what the hell was the big deal."

She smiled handing over the spoon, "I have no idea."

He shook his head again as he stirred the sauce, "Me walking again was supposed to be a miracle right? We got the Manticore dummy prize."

A sad smile passed across Max's face "At least they gave us something, instead of just taking."

Suddenly there was a boom, the noise of Cale's bottom hitting the floor as he once more unsuccessfully tried yanking open the cabinet.

He froze watching as she snapped out of her melancholy state, laughing as she scooped their son into her arms, telling him that's what he got for not listening to her. _Funny how much he actually owed to that hated place_, he realized and smiled.

* * *

AN: Okay so the lack of fluff was definitely all me in these past two chapters. Wrote that first one in the middle of the night while I was trying to backup everything on my computer…Yea apparently I'm not a nice person at 3am. Kinda spread to the next chapter even though it was mostly finished, I swear to god before I touched it today it was all nice and sweet and caring. Logan really wasn't supposed to be so angry and I can't fix it, I think every time I touch it I make it worse. Now Babyangel as for making duplicates of the temporary fix, same rules apply as to in the show, virus mutates so it no longer works. Okay I think I'm gonna go banish myself to watch the Princess Bride or something else of high level fluff. 


	55. At Liberty To Say

Note to the new reader: Yea I have no idea how viruses work, I know vaccines are dead or weakened viruses, so I would be agreeing with you, but DA seemed to have other ideas, I guess because it's a highly mutative virus or I don't know honestly. DA said he wasn't cured after Josh, I'm going with what they said. I kept Logan's immune system from rejecting the new cells that were forming because I liked keeping Logan walking because it made him realize just how unimportant his legs really were, stem cells are on a different level than blood cells and I'm guessing virus antibodies. Stem cells create other cells that are individualized, but your body makes new blood cells I think. Probably lying on all of that, probably has nothing to do with it all. Hmm point is Logan's not cured, however I do love you for trying to come up with a cure.

**AN: Okay so I'm completely FFN incompetent if you all haven't realized that after the nine million smooshed words (because I always end up changing things when I get to the preview page). I managed to delete a little smidge of story (I have no idea when I did this), only a few lines, but it ties into the previous chapter (not actually important, doesn't tell you anything new). There are a few new readers though, so if you want to the lines I accidentally deleted are at the end of chapter 30. It was just a cute little scene (yes I do give you those on the rare occasion :-D ).**

**Hey in my defense, even I was saddened by the last two chapters (No late night, already tired writing from now on).**

* * *

**Chapter 55 **

_At _ _Liberty__ To Say _

* * *

Terminal City (Feb 16th):

What had once been the makeshift fighting area had changed in the past few months of being able to move freely in the city. It resembled a boxing ring at this point. It worked well for sparing; keeping their skills in top form, in general just doing what came naturally to them after all these years. Kicking ass.

And that's exactly what Max was doing at this moment, she was kicking Alec's sorry little ass. Normally their competition was close, normally with Max coming out on top even if only slightly. Today though...Alec was having the shit kicked, punched, basically just knocked out of him every which way possible. He thanked god for the headgear. It wasn't really a concession to safety, it was a concession to not having to explain why their faces were covered in bruises because no matter how quickly they healed it wasn't instantaneous.

"Come on Maxie, let's call it a day."

She didn't stop moving, "Come on, you can't be done yet." she said appearing to have as much energy as when they'd started, over an hour ago.

"Max I'm starving. It's three. I need lunch."

Lunch equaled diner which equaled two days ago was Valentine's Day and she knew he'd spent it with her...More blows to Alec, she refrained from hitting below the belt, even though it was pretty tempting at this point.

"Come on Max" it was only slightly above a whine, he could keep going, but he didn't want to, this had ceased being fun about five minutes in, "There's a new place I want to try. Supposed to have really good gyros." He tried tempting her with food.

She held back the blow she had been about to deliver, "What about Jake's?" Jake's, the diner at which Lanie worked at.

He laughed, "Yea definitely avoiding that place." He shivered at the icy reception he'd received from her yesterday and had been incredibly thankful she wasn't in charge of making the food and the soda fountain was in plain sight.

"Why?" She completely stopped moving at this point waiting for the answer.

He took the opportunity and ripped off the headgear before she could come after him again, " Logan didn't tell you?" He laughed to himself, "Then again probably not the type of thing Logan would share." He'd only gotten the story out of him after he'd called to find out why Lanie had been shooting daggers at him and Zane all throughout lunch.

"What happened Alec?" her voice took on a harsher tone at not being told immediately.

"Not my place to say." He said hopping over the ropes.

"Alec" she said as she ripped off the helmet.

"They're over Max. That's all I'm at liberty to say."

"You would be dead if it weren't for me Alec."

"Oh no Maxie, you've played that card before. We're even."

_They were even? _She tilted her head to the side. _If he hadn't been an idiot and gotten himself caught by White…They wouldn't even be having this discussion. There would be no Lanie involved in the damn picture. _"Alec," she said firmly again.

"Ask Logan Max." He said simply before he took a pull of water.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Max's apartment (Later that evening):

"So what happened between you and Lanie?" she tried to sound uninterested.

"Just didn't work out Max." he said from his seat on her living room floor playing with Cale.

"Why?" She probed watching over them.

"Just didn't Max" His eyes slid over to hers. _He had seen her eyes, her lips, her hair, thought about her laughs, her tears, how her touch used to feel, how her touch felt now_…He hadn't been able to escape her. Probably not the words Max wanted to hear.

She froze at the intensity his eyes held, her lip quivered just the slightest bit before she spoke again softly, "Why?"

He let out a small breath along with a small smile as he shook his head, his eyes briefly closed, "You know why Max." He tried, he honestly had, he listened to everyone, listened to what his brain had told him. They had to move on, so he'd tried. He'd frozen though at the steps leading up to her apartment…How was he supposed to move on when he could still be with her? When the lips beneath his could still be hers…The hair in between his fingers…

"I love you." She said softly, their eyes still connected.

His head titled slightly and he wondered he'd really just heard that.

She looked confused, scared by her words, she hadn't meant to say them. For so long they hadn't fit in the context of what they were, there hadn't been a time or place to say them. _She'd run out of ever having the right moment to say it_. "You kinda missed it the last time," she said shakily, "then again I kinda only whispered it." She smiled as tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

He stayed still on the floor, still just looking at her stunned.

"I just thought for so long, I'd get another chance." Her small voice said. She gave a quick shake of her head, "I don't us to be over."

He remained still, his heart breaking over the pain in her tiny voice, tears threatening to mirror her glassy eyes.

"I know we have to be, but it's not fair. We didn't even get a chance Logan."

The desperation and hurt in her voice, finally caused him to snap out of his stunned state and react. He moved up onto the couch and cupped the side of her face still silent, he just wanted to hug her, to take away this pain he'd caused. He'd done this to her, gotten her hopes up for a cure that never came. "I'm sorry," was all he could figure out to say.

She shook her head softly, _this wasn't his fault,_ "What happened between you and her?" she asked looking up, still connected by his gloved hand.

"She wasn't you." He whispered honestly.

She understood what he meant, she'd felt it too. Kisses that had once been pleasant with Jeff now felt like a violation, like she was betraying Logan all over again. _How could she kiss another, when she could still kiss him?_ "I don't want us to be over Logan, not without us having a chance."

He nodded, _they couldn't be over without ever having been,_ "Twenty seven hours Max."

She nodded, "We can cram a lot of memories into that. Far away though" she laughed and his hand raised up to brush away the tears that had suddenly broken loose from her eyes.

He looked down at his now glistening hand and stopped himself from wiping fingers off on his pants, she laughed watching his puzzlement, and he looked up and smiled before wiping it on the couch. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded, suddenly she had never been more sure about anything, "I love you."

His hand cupped her face again, "I love you too."


	56. Hiding Out

Babyangel: What's rt? You used it in the last two reviews and I have no idea what it is and not knowing is annoying me.

* * *

**Chapter 56 **

_Hiding Out _

* * *

Max's: 

"Oh jesus that bitch can't be back already."

Max turned around with a confused expression over Cindy's words, "Huh?"

Original Cindy raised up the packet of pills on Max's dresser, "Weren't you just in heat?"

"Oh" She laughed; OC described her in heat now as PMS times twenty, apparently the hormones in the pill made her slightly bitchy on top of already being slightly horny. "No, you're safe."

Suddenly an eyebrow raised and an eye dropped back down to the packet, "So if you're not in heat, why are these out?"

Max's mouth opened, she'd known she was gonna half to tell her girl, she just hadn't wanted to over think it yet, "Hmm birth control pills out…Wonder what that could mean?" she played it off in her normal jokingly sarcastic way not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

"I'm hoping it means you and Logan have come to your senses. Not that I don't like Jeff or anything." OC quickly tacked on the end, just in case the pills really weren't for Logan.

She smiled and bobbed her head, "Normal for a day."

Original Cindy let out a slick smile, "You want me to watch the little boo?"

"Not necessary."

"What do you mean not necessary?" Original Cindy suddenly looked offended, "Who else you gonna leave him with? Josh and Alec will both be at your door in a matter of minutes. Now I like Zen and Vida and all, but they don't really."

"We're taking him with us" Max said cutting her friend off.

"Taking him with you where?"

"Somewhere no one knows." It had been decided, the cabin this weekend. They'd run through every possibility in their minds, every location. They couldn't leave Cale with anyone, if they did something was guaranteed to happen, not to mention then they couldn't be out of contact. He slept on his own and through the night, he napped, he had no problem playing on his own and they had baby monitors. It was their only shot at not having the entire time ruined; they could deal with a few delayed moments. Not to mention it would be their only shot at being the stereotypical family even if it were for just 27 hours. Something about that made it impossible for either of them to leave him behind.

-o-o-o-o-

Logan's: 

"So uh you and Maxie"

Logan looked up to see Alec grinning down at him, _how the hell did he know? _"What about Max and me, Alec?" He asked as he returned his attention to the computer.

"Talked to Josh. Apparently Maxie girl is going to be incommunicado this weekend."

"So what exactly does that have to do with me?"

"Ah come on Logan." He said slapping Logan's shoulder, Logan's eyes went to his shoulder and then to Alec. Alec pulled back his hand at the look, "Fine, you know I'm just saying," he started to walk across the room, "that's got to be a lot of pressure on you. You and Max" he turned back, "a lot of pressure man."

Logan snickered, _nice of Alec to try to give him performance anxiety._ "Just try to keep the city in one piece until we get back."

Brows furrowed, "Where are you going?"

Logan looked up again and smiled, "No way in hell I'm telling you."

-o-o-o-o-

Friday afternoon: 

"How can one little boy need so many things?" Max asked looking into the crowded back of the Aztec, "I have one bag." She said turning to Logan, "And why is your laptop in the car?"

He chuckled, "DVD purposes only, I swear."

"It better be." She said with a shake of her head.

"It is." He smiled, "So is that everything?"

She looked into the crowed back, his bag, her bag, Cale's 3 bags, laptop and groceries. She nodded, "I think so."

"You ready to go?" He asked lowering the hatch.

She nodded and took a deep breath as she walked around to the passenger's side.


	57. Families of the Past

**AN: Gotta love prewritten chapters…Damn thing's been waiting for two months to be posted. Thanks for reading! **

* * *

**Chapter 57 **

_Families of the Past _

* * *

Car ride (mid-conversation): 

"Tell me about your parents" she said lowering herself back into her seat after turning to check on Cale who dozed in the back.

"My parents?"

"Yea you know those people who raised you." She said with a smile.

"Why are you asking about them now?"

"Because you mentioned them. You normally don't. I never wanted to push."

He sighed and wondered about her words, _Max not push? _"They're dead, what's left to say?"

She laughed, "Who they were they were when they were alive? All I know is your dad didn't approve of poetry and your mom loved to cook." _Okay slight understatement, but not by much. _

He pondered that for a moment, had that really been all he'd ever told the woman he loved about his parents? _Why had he ever kept so much in? _"They were really in love. Once I was able to get past the fact they were gone, I was glad they went together."

"What happened?" she asked gently_, he barely talked about them alive, let alone them dying. _

"A car accident, during my summer break. I was 16 at the time; I was going to be a senior in high school. They were in Portland visiting my mom's sister, I was supposed to go, but there was a party I didn't want to miss, eventually they gave in and let me stay." He turned and smiled "With the promise that the party wouldn't somehow end up at our house."

"Had that happened before?" Max gave a teasing grin

He laughed and nodded, "A few times, cops actually came once, didn't turn out well, I was grounded for 6 weeks I think." He sighed again "It was a car accident, pile up two days after they arrived. My mom lived 4 hours longer than my dad. My dad died in surgery, my mom in the ICU. I didn't see either of them until the wake. It was hard to see them like that…I mean I'd seen them five days earlier. My dad banged on my door and told me to go grab some of my mother's bags…"

_"_ _Logan__" he banged on the door, his father had soft brown hair, just beginning to gray at the temples, the faintest lines around his green eyes, he was wearing jeans and a blue polo. _

_"Aww jesus, what Dad?" the 16 year old version of Logan asked, no glasses because of contacts, his hair golden from the sun as was his skin, khaki shorts and a blue Surf Naked tee shirt. _

_"Grab your mother's suitcases." he called walking down the hall with his own. _

_He groaned walking down to his parents room, "Mom" he sighed as he saw his mother putting in a diamond stud, the perfect image of a socialite wife, her hair almost platinum from the highlights, her eyes a vivid blue, dressed in a patterned black wrap dress. _

_"_ _Logan__" she turned and sighed back, mocking her son. _

_"You're going away for a week. How many bags do you need?" he looked at the pile awaiting him on the floor. 5 he counted. _

_She laughed, "I'm old; it takes a lot of work to look this good." _

_He didn't bother to try to fight with her, remind her that all of his friends were in love with her, she'd have known she was beautiful even if her son's friends didn't drool over her, even if all the heads didn't turn when she walked into a room, she'd know from how her husband was looking at from the doorway, how he'd been looking at her for the past 23 years. _

_"Logan don't try reasoning with your mother, it's pointless. Just grab some bags." _

_Elise Cale picked up her purse and laughed at her son and husband who each grabbed two bags, she lifted her cosmetics case. _

_"Gee thanks for the help Mom. Make sure you don't strain yourself." _ _Logan__ rolled his eyes. _

_She continued to smile as she followed them down the stairs and through the door to the waiting forest green Aston Martin, she held out her case politely as they loaded the bags in the trunk. _

_"Thanks for all your help honey" _ _Logan__ Cale Sr. teased, leaning in to kiss his wife. _

_She smiled, "So is that everything?" _

_He nodded, "All that remains is the lecture." _

_Logan__ groaned, "No parties I know." _

_"No parties, Bennett and Jason can stay over if they want, but that's it." His mother tapped him on the nose. "Anything else darling?" she turned to her husband. _

_His father's eyes narrowed, "The Jacuzzi is for adults only." _

_"Yes sir." _

_His father, managed to keep his grin inside as he saw the corners of _ _Logan__'s mouth going up. _

_"Good, now that we have all that settled. Give me a hug and promise you'll pick up your cell phone when I call you tonight." _

_"Oh for heaven's sake Elise, stop babying him." _

_"Never," she laughed pulling _ _Logan__ in close, "You're always going to be my baby, you know that right?" she kissed the tip of his nose. _

_His father groaned once more, "Just try not to burn down the house _ _Logan__ and remember no driving after 9. You and Bennett take a cab to the party and don't get in the car with anyone that's been at that party." His father uncharacteristically showed his concern. _

_"Don't worry Dad; I'll probably just stay over." _

_His father couldn't decide if he was pleased with that or not, but he accepted it, "Okay" he quickly pulled his son in for a brief pat on the back, his version of a hug, walked to the driver's side and got in. _

_Logan walked to the passenger's side and opened the door for his mom, she turned before she got into the car and kissed his cheek one final time, "I love you baby, be good. Call me if anything happens, we'll come home immediately." _

_"I'll be fine Mom." He reassured _

_She slid into the seat and he closed the door, she waved as they pulled away and then they were gone. _

" Logan are you okay?" Max whispered a moment after he stopped speaking

"Yea" he shook his head, "just remembering them. They were pretty good parents."

"Couldn't have been half bad if they raised you."

He laughed, "I don't know, you turned out pretty well for having Lydecker as a father."

Max rolled her eyes, "Please don't ever use the words Lydecker and father in the same sentence." She turned and looked at him, "So is that all you're going to say about your parents?"

He laughed and glanced over at her, "Didn't get out of that one did I?"

She shook her head

His eyes completely turned back to the road, "Okay so what do you want to know?"

-o-o-o-o-

Max arrived at the cabin knowing a lot more about the little boy whose pictures were scattered about walls. She found out about little league and soccer and how he used to feel when his dad would miss his games, but also how proud he would be when he'd done something right and his father would praise him for it. He didn't mention what it felt like to fail his father though.

He told her how his mom would cheer endlessly, sometimes at the wrong times. How she went to everything PTSA and all the field trips, how he always had the best snacks to bring in. How his mother was a writer, an unpublished one, but still a writer, she'd tapered off a little more each year of her marriage, she was an executive's wife, she'd had parties to not only attend, but plan and her days were filled with the charity events she was organizing.

His father nowhere near as cold as his uncle, but a firm believer in the family business and manly pursuits as Logan had termed it, he expected Logan to live up to his name and follow in his footsteps.

There was still love though in Logan's voice as he talked about his father, talked about the trips the two of them would sometime take to the cabin. Logan could barely see the road through the tears as he was laughing so hard about the time when he was little. He'd fallen off the dock while fishing, his father had just dived in after him without a moment's hesitation, and they just stayed in the water splashing around. When they finally returned to the cabin soaking wet, fishless and one rod short his mother had fallen to the floor laughing at them.

She started walking to the trunk once the car stopped, but Logan just gave her a look, _Let me be the guy _it said and handed her the keys. She was laughing to herself as she undid the buckles on Cale's seat and lifted him onto her hip and walked on to the cabin.

She entered the cabin and looked around nothing had changed. Well physically that is, she'd been here over two years ago with Zack, thinking she had just said goodbye to Logan forever and now she was here with him and their son saying a final goodbye to their love. She pushed that out of her mind, she'd grieve come Sunday afternoon. Not now.


	58. Mine

Babyangel and Bob: Nice paying attention people, even nicer mentioning it. Yea I swear to god I reread that chapter a dozen times after writing it and every time I missed that the wasn't I heard in my mind wasn't on the screen. 

AN: I screwed myself over…I admit this. What like 60 chapters of you guys waiting for this…And I suck at these chapters. I'm a horrible horrible action person…Ugh I didn't even remember that until I actually got up to having to post this chapter. And 6'2 totally screws me, readjust my words in your mind.

* * *

**Chapter 58 **

_Mine _

* * *

_Max Voiceover- _

_12:23_

_Cale's been asleep for hours. _ _Logan__ went off to his room a little before __midnight_

_Logan_

_My _ _Logan__. He's finally actually going to be my _ _Logan_

_Mine. _

_Mine and then I have to walk away. _

_I'm an idiot. If it feels like this now… _

_I love him. I don't know if I can do this. _

_The problem is I know I can't not. _

Max picks up a wooden frame, of a little, very blonde, very tan Logan wearing a green and white baseball uniform and cap holding a bat and smiles at the little boy smiling out at her before putting it down.

_ No little kids with that exact eye color. _

_Even worse only one true night and morning together. _

_Spending the rest of my days wondering if I've forgotten what his kiss felt like. _

_The problem is I know I won't. _

_I can still feel his lips over mine as if it were yesterday. _

_If I didn't I wouldn't rethink my decisions all the time. _

_If I didn't remember what his lips felt like over the latex, through the shirt… _

_His hands skillfully moving across my body. _

_The look in his eyes as his hand lingered over the drawstring. _

_If I could forget all of that I could move on. If I could forget everything we could have, we should have. _

_If I could forget all of that I wouldn't be thinking of going to the fridge right now and starting our time together a little early. _

_The problem is with that, the sooner we start this, the sooner it's over. _

She looks longingly towards the kitchen and then shakes her head.

_Tomorrow will be here soon enough. _

-o-o-o-o-

"Well look who finally decided to join us" Max said looking up grinning from where she and Cale were playing on the floor building a log cabin just a little taller than Cale's seated height.

"Daddy" Cale said standing and running to his father.

"Hey buddy" Logan said scooping him into his arms, "Did your Momma feed you?"

He nodded, "Nana an' cereal."

"Sounds yummy, any left?" He said walking over and moving behind the counter, he peeled the banana with his son still in his arms and started to eat. "Sorry I woke up late, tomorrow I'll make you guys pancakes."

"Pancakes" Cale clapped his hands

Max laughed, "No Cale, pancakes tomorrow, you just ate. Why are you up so late?" She'd been pacing around since 5 waiting for him to wake up and had resisted being a bad mother and waking Cale up to not only keep her company, but tire him out.

A slow grin spread across his face, "Sleeping pill last night."

She laughed as her entire body warmed, "Wanted to make sure you were rested up?"

"That was the plan." He finished off the banana in another bite, "I'm gonna go shower" he said dropping Cale back down to his feet.

"Don't forget to shave" she called out after him….Loving the stubble, but knowing it would get pretty annoying pretty quick even though it was pretty soft.

-o-o-o-o-

A few minutes later, she walked over to the fridge and took out the needle. She wondered if she should wait for Logan, but suddenly she couldn't wait anymore. Without a second thought, she guided the needle into the vein. 8 minutes the guy had said…8 minutes for it to run its course through her body and leave them protected. She smiled as she set the rooster timer, so out of place and low-class in the Cale family cabin.

"Hey you wanna watch a movie?" she asked walking over to her son.

His baby blue eyes grew brighter, "Bob?"

She laughed as she started flipping through Logan's cd book, "You got it."

-o-o-o-o-o-

She let herself into the bathroom as the shower was running. The beige and white bathroom, Logan had told her once that the cabin had been a lot more rustic before his mother had gotten her hands on it. She refused to do any type of roughing it and the bathroom reflected it. The marble vanity, the large sunken tub built for two…

The shower only feet away from her…With Logan inside of it.

Three minutes had been left on the timer as she'd left the room with the dvd set on repeat and Cale surrounded by toys, dropping the baby monitor on the nightstand before heading into the bathroom.

She lifted herself up onto the counter and waited.

She faintly heard the buzz of the timer thanks to the monitor in the other room, a few moments later the shower turned off ending her internal struggle of whether or not she should just slip in there with him. He emerged a few moments later with the beige towel wrapped low around his still glistening body. She didn't speak, she just openly admired, she'd never really gotten to do that before. She could now though, his broad chest, his strong arms, the defined abs, long active legs. Logan was in top physical form, he hadn't really had a choice, not with the threat of enemies always looming over them and the year he spent keeping his arms and abs in top shape in case his legs stopped again.

He suddenly realized she was in the room as he grabbed another towel to dry his hair, "Max."

She smiled, she loved how his eyes always connected with hers, he never wavered or showed any discomfort. He hadn't even when he was in the chair; it had taken her months to realize it was only bravado. "Almost three years and I've never caught you in only a towel before."

He smiled back as he remembered why the towel was in his hands, "That's because you normally don't enter the bathroom while I'm still in it." He replied as he toweled off his hair.

"Definitely a lack of good judgment on my part."

He smiled again as he draped the towel back over the bar. There was something about Max saying those words, the way her eyes showed her approval of his body, it canceled out all of the women in his past. Their words, their looks hadn't meant anything compared to hers. The shock of Max suddenly appearing in the room started to recede and he realized she wouldn't be looking at him like that if she'd come to tell him she wanted to back out, "Did you?"

She nodded.

There was an unsteady breath that he couldn't hide as he walked towards her. It didn't slow him down though. He was suddenly before her, looking down as she looked up, gazing into her eyes seeing the love, pain and fear that reflected his own. He ignored the last two, focused on the love, the love that had been present from the first moment their eyes had connected even though it had been masked as other things, attraction, lust, hell even just curiosity. It had been there though from that very first moment and all it had done in the three years since was grow to levels he couldn't have ever imagined… "I thought you wanted me to shave." He said as his fingers slipped into her hair, feeling the texture of the newly darkened locks, he realized it wasn't as soft as it had once been, probably from the year of bleaching. His fingers moved along the back of her head, just feeling and holding.

"You can shave later." His touch and nearness was making her heady, her words were soft, her mouth unable to remember how to close.

He leaned down and softly found her lips, tender and slow instead of their desperate kisses of the last time. Her hands found their way into his damp hair. "I love you" he whispered against her lips as things started to heat up and their kisses deepened.

"I love you too" she returned the words.

He groaned over her as they were already leaning back with her head resting against the mirror as her hands trailed down his body and her legs wrapped around the top of his pulling him closer to her, "Couldn't have waited five minutes until I was dressed?"

She smiled up and pulled him closer.

"Three years Max" he reminded and once more wished for the distraction and the delay his own clothing would have created.

She smiled again; she knew exactly what he meant and didn't care. Her hands disengaged from his body, found the hem of her gray tank and started to pull it up; he finished the job for her and his lips reclaimed hers. His hands tightened behind her as he pulled her close and off of the counter, she tightened her legs around his waist as he pulled her against him. They barely noticed the towel fall halfway towards the bed.


	59. Getting Acquainted

Babyangel: It wasn't a matter of Logan forgetting. It was more of a quickie kinda statement.

**That was not a cliffhanger people. That was a fade to black, cut to commercial, fill in with your own imagination; I mean this is a PG-13 story people :-D. Not to mention me trying to choreograph a love scene would take weeks…You have no idea how many issues I had with character/body placement in their living room and bathroom scene. My brain just doesn't work that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 59**

_Getting Acquainted _

* * *

Her arms locked around him and held him in place as she realized he was lifting himself off of her, "Don't go" she huskily murmured amazed she had any energy left to speak. Her entire body felt spent, better yet singed, pure combustion after three years of foreplay…_Definitely topped Kendra on that one_. It wasn't supposed to be like that. Simple as that, it wasn't supposed to be that good, it wasn't supposed to not only live up to her expectations but surpass them. 

He chuckled softly as he remained over her, most of his weight being supported by his forearms, "This can't be comfortable Max." That and he was pretty sure his arms were going to give out soon, he didn't doubt she would fine with all of his weight resting upon her, but there was a difference between being fine and being comfortable.

"Don't go," she repeated tilting up her head, her lips swollen from his kisses.

He smiled as he tenderly reclaimed those lips; he slipped an arm under her and rolled her with him, their positions reversed.

The rush of cooler air hit her and she laughed softly looking up at him, "Hey."

"Hey yourself." He smiled.

"I am never going to be able to watch Bob the Builder again." She said seriously.

He laughed and dropped his head to the side looking at the blue and white baby monitor that had provided their 'background music.' "How long do you think we have?"

She groaned from his chest, "Your guess is as good as mine. We're bad parents." She nodded and then smiled.

"You have great hearing and quick reflexes, he'll be fine." Logan said running his hands down the length of her body.

She smiled, "Should have taken OC with us."

"There would have been a car accident; the motel would have burnt down…"

Max laughed,_ nice to know they could at least make light of their perpetual bad luck_. She started to sit up.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said firmly clasping her waist.

"Thought I might do a little exploring" she said with a small smile and her eyes twinkling.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Well then, by all means don't let me stop you."

She moved with her typical grace and ease; slowly, teasingly as she knew he was watching. Her fingers trailed down over him and he looked at her puzzled as she stopped by his feet.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she slightly moved his big toe.

"Getting reacquainted with your feet." She smiled.

"I'm very fond of that being attached to my foot." He said remembering the last time.

She laughed and trailed her index finger along his arch, smiling as his foot instinctively curled and a slight tremor passed through his body, "Ticklish?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sensitive." He replied.

She nodded and proceeded to skim her fingers up his calf, she draped them around to the back of his knee and once more his body jerked, a pleased smile passed over her lips, "Sensitive?" she said seriously with a nod.

He laughed as she returned to her trail up his body. Fingers trailed over more sensitive parts and Logan took a harsh breath and Max once more smiled before dropping down closer to him again placing a series of kisses leading up to his navel. She laughed as he bent forward and pulled her up to him.

"I'm not done." She said finally pulling away from his lips, he groaned as she began to explore his neck.

"Max" he softly murmured

Before he realized she'd even moved, she was tickling the area behind his knee again and his leg kicked out, "I'm sorry" she apologized sitting back laughing.

He shot forward and grabbed her, turning and pinning her beneath him on the bed.

She continued to laugh, "I couldn't help myself…You're ticklish. Logan Cale is ticklish."

"Turn about's fair play Max." he said with a devilish smile just before turning his attention to her neck causing it to jerk in reaction to the scruff, lips and tongue that had just began their assault on her nerve endings.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"We should go check on Cale." Max said unenthusiastically sometime later_, the thought of moving…_

"We should." Logan agreed, but neither moved, Logan's arm was still around Max, her head was still on his shoulder, her hand resting high on his chest, a single leg draped over his.

"You know we're the only parents who are actually going to lie to their child about this."

"Hmmm?" he said not following her train of thought.

"How he came to be…Everyone else lies and blames it on a giant bird."

Logan chuckled, "And we actually got him from some giant amphibians."

"Mmmhmm" Max murmured in agreement.

"He's got to have something to hate us for." Logan joked. They'd talked about what they'd tell Cale in the future and lying still seemed to be the best option, it was lie or teach him to lie and hide the truth about himself for his own safety. They'd tell him the truth when he was older.

A crash of logs came over the monitor, "How many times has he knocked that thing down?"

"Quite a few" Logan replied wryly.

"He's bored."

"I know. It's got to be around lunchtime anyway."

"We're moving?" Max asked regretfully.

"We're moving."

Max sighed pushing herself up and pushed back her stray hair, she laughed as Logan pulled her back down to him, "I thought you said we were moving?" she asked as their brief kiss ended.

"We are." He nodded and she went to sit up again, "In a minute" he said pulling her back down.


	60. Good Things

Maria nice paying attention, there's a reason why I use the export link so frequently on this site (let me sadly point out you caught that after I already did that once).

**AN: Okay as asked I'm stretching people.**

* * *

**Chapter 60 **

_Good Things _

* * *

Cale was sitting in the red booster seat at the table alternating between the foods on his plate, cut up chicken nuggets, plain pasta and half a banana cut up, _variety they'd learned that the hard way_… The kid ate what he wanted, when he wanted. 

_Good thing Cale's too young to remember any of this,_ was all Max was thinking, when she was actually managing thought. The last thing he needed scarring him for life was not only the fact that his parents had repeatedly been kissing and touching as they had been trying to put together his lunch while toting him around since he was attention deprived, but the memory of his mother being pinned up against the white fridge. His mother wearing only a long blue shirt of his father's and her underwear pinned up against the fridge by his father who was equally underdressed in just a pair of gray sweatpants. Their focus on getting their own lunch forgotten.

Of course, Cale, who was used to entertaining himself for long stretches of time while his father worked, had had quite enough of their neglect after awhile and a sticky piece of banana came out of his mouth and connected with his father's back.

"Ugh" Logan said separating from Max and wiping the spot with his hand.

Max chuckled over Logan's face looking down at his hand and gave a look of disgust down to the floor where the banana had landed; she ripped off a piece of paper towel and handed it to Logan to clean up as she moved over to the table. "Are we ignoring you buddy?" she asked with a smile and rubbed her son's head with one hand and popped half a chicken nugget in her mouth with the other.

"Hava cookie?" he looked at her hopefully.

They both laughed at his attempt to get something out of his parents' guilt.

"After you finish your lunch buddy." Logan said as he went back to work on his and Max's sandwiches.

Cale gave a pleading look to Max, "Mommy peez"

"You heard Daddy Cale." Max said returning his pouting look.

"You're aware this is our life for the next twenty years at least."

"Him trying to play one of us off the other?" she said swiping a piece of banana from his plate, "Fun. Okay seriously, I'm starving." She said turning.

"Hold on." He said with a smile as he continued arranging the cold cuts.

Max's attention on the rolls next to Logan that she had been thinking about pilfering was distracted as she watched his back and the subtle changes that occurred with his movements. _This is pathetic_, she thought to herself as she mentally envisioned placing kisses all along his back, which led to another thought of sliding her arms around his back…

She wondered for a brief moment if it was the time limit that was causing these thoughts, this intense desire, but as she watched the new movements formed by his back and his arms as he cut the sandwiches she was pretty sure even if someone guaranteed her the next fifty years her actions and thoughts would be the same… _Of course, I'll never know that for sure,_ she thought as she turned back to Cale, who was once more happily eating his bananas.

"Whatever it is you're thinking about, stop." Logan ordered placing her sandwich in front of her, noticing her serious face.

She smiled and snapped back to the moment, "Cale" she laughingly cried seeing his full cheeks and pulled away his plate as he tried to stuff more bananas into his mouth, "Swallow." She ordered as she and Logan both laughed over their son's chipmunk-like appearance.

He giggled through his full mouth and went back to chewing.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Do you think it's too cold for the park?" Logan asked as they finished their sandwiches, Cale having switched over to Logan's lap further ensuring he would receive attention after receiving his promised cookie.

"Horsey?" Cale looked up hopefully, the spring-loaded animals his favorite draw at the park back home.

"No horseys here baby." She said touching his cheek, remembering the contents of the park they'd driven past yesterday. "Do you really think that's wise?" She asked looking up at Logan.

He looked puzzled by that, after all he'd just asked if she thought it was too cold.

"Our attention has been a little distracted." She explained.

"Oh" he said as it hit him what she meant. "Good point" he said with a nod. "How about a walk then?"

"Dizzying heights, country air?" she said with a smile.

He nodded with a small smile remembering when they'd originally made those plans, when they'd first come so close to being together. _If his legs or his ego had only held out a little while longer…_ "I'm only a couple years late. We should come back in the summer, do some hiking, there are some easy trails." He said dropping his head in a gesture towards Cale.

She smiled, "Sounds like fun." _Won't be the same though._

-o-o-o-o-o-

Within five minutes into the walk, they realized it wasn't their smartest idea ever as Cale kept trying to break away from their grasp to run after something. The cold, uneven ground would lead to only one thing if an energetic two year old was let loose on it and that was disaster. Of course being scooped into his father's arms hadn't done anything to calm him and after several harsh exclamations, he resorted to hitting.

"Okay that's it, we're going inside." Logan said after his shoulder received another blow after calmly reminding Cale that they didn't hit.

The jovial mood that had encompassed them was lost as Cale screamed once more deafening Logan. _The terrible twos, there should be a seminar or something on how to survive it. _Their son discovering his own identity was enough to make them want to tear their hair out at times. Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, time outs, 30 seconds for each year of his age. They'd heard it all from every parent on the playground.

Max personally liked the advice of a woman they'd met a few weeks back as Cale had thrown a similar tantrum when being forced to leave the park, 'Grit your teeth and pray it's over soon.' From Logan's serious expression as he bounded towards the house, it was more than obvious that wasn't the advice he had wanted to hear. Logan believed he could change the world, the last thing he'd do was sit idly by and allow his son to get away with this behavior without trying everything in his power to stop it.

"There's a reason they make them so cute from the start."

He turned going up the steps and flashed her a grin, it had been a common statement passed between the two of them. Another whimpering cry came from Cale as he placed a final blow against his father as they hit the porch, "Cute and quiet." He said with a shake of his head and his eyes briefly closing.

Max chuckled as she opened the door.

Logan dropped Cale down and the boy instantly cheered up and ran over to his toys, leaving Logan staring after him in shock and Max trying to hide her smile. Logan ruefully grinned turning to Max_, oh well he'd just rewarded his son's behavior. _

She gave a pitying smile as she completed the space between them and wound her arms around his neck, "He'll grow out of it."

He softly shook his head in defeat and she was laughing as their lips came together.


	61. A Glimpse of Perfection

* * *

**Chapter 61 **

_A Glimpse of Perfection _

* * *

In one single moment, she saw with a clarity that blinded her, her entire reason for being. Her reason for being created, for existing; it hadn't been to be a soldier, a science experiment and it hadn't been to lead others like her to freedom. _No…_

With the sounds of the fire crackling and dying feet away, the feel of Logan's chest rising and falling beneath her cheek, his breath upon her hair, Cale's upon her face, she realized this is what she had been meant for.

She couldn't fall asleep like they had and it wasn't for the fact that one wrong move could send her falling off the couch where she lay against Logan's side and their son on his chest. She couldn't let this feeling pass her by, the feelings that had grown all day long.

They'd decided to go into town shortly after their walk after proving her reflexes weren't so quick when she was distracted. The milk, they'd gone in to pour for Cale had hit the floor in the kitchen soaking hers and Logan's feet before they even realized they'd bumped into it.

They'd played in the park for less than a half an hour, managing to keep their attention properly focused on their son. Of course that hadn't been too hard consider the paltry selection of equipment they had. The swings were the only decent option for a two year old, Max wasn't about to risk finding out how much Manticore existed in him at this young age on anything else. So they'd swung, Logan pushed Cale in the baby swing as Max swung beside him.

They'd left the car and walked over to the grocers with Cale resting on Logan's side, his other arm draped across Max's shoulders. They had always presented the image of a family; _they had always been a family._ Since before the day they'd run into Bennett and Clemente. There was something though in actually feeling his skin against her own…It shouldn't have mattered, but it did. Knowing that as others looked at them, what they saw was actually the complete and total truth.

_She was his; he was hers in everyway possible._

That slow sense of peace and perfection had stayed with them as Cale had dropped off on the ride back to the cabin. Max had carried him in as Logan brought in the groceries. They'd met back up in the living room before slowly making their way into the bedroom. Intensity, passion, need…those had driven their first time together, the second was more playful or at least it began that way, it had been able to because their first time was over, all those years of waiting, of wondering, of thinking it would never happen….It had, so they could just be themselves, just be in the moment, not be driven by anything else, besides what was going on in the here and now.

She didn't know what exactly had driven them that third time, family, peace, the utter perfection of what they were when they were together…It had been slow and tender, as if they were giving their minds the chance to absorb every single touch, taste, feel…Savored like one of Logan's pre-pulse wines. They had fallen asleep together, wrapped in each other's arms, covered by the soft red blanket that had been knocked off the bed several times during the day. Awoken by their son seeking them out after his nap, the door left open exactly for that reason. He'd crawled into bed with them and they'd stayed that way for a few minutes, just being.

They went back to their day after that, playing with Cale, making dinner. _She didn't regret having to do those things._ Once upon a time she might have thought she'd want to go the straight 27 hours with Logan in bed, but the simple things had been what she'd wanted. Leaning back into his arms as they sat on the floor with Cale, the soft kisses that would pass between them, just the feel of their arms touching as they moved. Those had been the things she'd wanted…

"Mhmm" Logan murmured and stretched out, his eyes focused downward taking in the scene, "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Not long."

"Want to put him to bed?" He asked

"In a few." She needed awhile longer to savor this.

-o-o-o-

Silence stole over them once more. Giving him another chance to just feel, to reflect. _He hadn't expected this._ Not in all of his thoughts or dreams about being with Max had he expected this. He'd expected making love with her to be overwhelming, he expected it to surpass everything else. He'd dreamed about what it would feel like to actually feel her hand within his as they walked, to just randomly kiss her throughout the day, make dinner with her constantly pilfering, hands being lightly smacked. _Putting it all together though…_

How she'd just wanted to lay there on the couch after Cale had fallen asleep. The conversation about nothing important that had followed on that very same couch after they'd put Cale down, soft touches and kisses as they spoke… Taking a bath with Max, the laughter that had resulted from the bubbles she hadn't been aware the bath was capable of creating, the feel of her body underwater, the taste and feel of her mouth and skin, the wet strands of hair beneath his touch… No, he hadn't been prepared for any of it. Not the feel of the sheets still slightly damp, not the way the room was softly lit by the lamp next to the bed, not the soft talk that occasionally passed between them.

She rose up to study him, bracing herself on a bent arm, examining the gently lit face of the man she loved. For almost three years, she had been looking at, dreaming of this face, "Who are you?" she asked as the question came to mind.

He looked puzzled by her words, wondering if any of those clever replies about clones or who exactly she thought she'd spent the past 17 hours with that ran through his mind should be voiced.

She noticed his confusion, "You're not the guy who tried to guilt me into saving the world, you're not the guy I fell in love with, you aren't even the guy I came home too." The imprint of who he was, was the same, the basics hadn't changed, but he had.

She watched his eyes, she watched as thoughts ran through them as he went through hundreds of different things to say, she didn't expect the words that finally came, "You were still there."

Her lips pouted in puzzlement.

"I drove you away, I pushed you away, you died in my arms, hell you even left me for another guy, but you were still there."

A soft smile graced her lips, she wondered if she understood fully, if it was the freedom that came with love or the peace that came when you knew the person you loved would always be by your side, would always love you in return, she didn't want to ask though, she didn't want to change his words. Whatever they had meant, they touched something deep within her, just like his poem. Simple words, simple words to explain the most complex yet simplest thing there was, love.

"I love you," she whispered dropping down for a kiss.

"I love you too." He replied, not for the first time today.

-o-o-o-

"That whole me leaving you for Alec thing" she said sometime later.

"Do we really need to discuss that?" his voice was muffled against her throat, buried by her hair.

She chuckled, "You totally placed more importance on it than me dying."

He laughed moving over her, "You had no say in dying…you left me for Alec."

"Can I remind you, I never actually touched Alec and it was your own sick and twisted imagination that created even the idea of me and Alec."

His darkened eyes were over hers, "We're really not discussing Alec now."

She let out a small laugh along with a smile, "Sorry."

His lips returned to their task and moved down her body.

"Seriously though, me with Alec was"

He cut her off before she could even finish, her hands went back into his hair and she forgot about everything else besides from him.

* * *

Hmm, you know there are moments even I have issues with the pg-13 thing or T or K or whatever the hell it is on this site…My original thoughts flew straight past R and onto NC-17. 


	62. Passing

**AN: If one person's confused most likely others are too. 61 chapters, 75,000 words, not too surprising. Look at the topics, if you've got any questions read. And if there are any other questions please ask people, I can answer a lot easier than you can find. **

1) Cale's parents: None, like Max. He's actual Manticore, an X-8. Rescued by an X-5 (I think), who was killed around the same time as the Jam Pony incident. She had been traveling with people like Mole, who were doing a crappy job taking care of Cale and willingly passed him off to Logan and never looked back (I think that was chapter 3, but I'm only looking at title names). That's why Cale had a barcode like Max (28-29), genetic altering removed it.

2) Max and Alec: Logan figured out the truth about Max and Alec in 18. He however had a realization around the same time as Max's (19). She'd almost died before his eyes twice in less than a year, but she was still there. Alec, the fighting, the staying away…She was still there holding his hand looking at the flag. That's what caused the change Max realized in Logan (34).

3) Haha, no I'm not doing any R or NC-17 versions. Same problem still applies as before, getting it from my head to the screen is waaaaay too time consuming. My head doesn't work for actions, if there was some jack to plug my overactive imagination into the computer I would. My thoughts were simple on the last one though, it was just Logan continuing in a downward fashion and once more all thoughts flying out of Max's head.

X-318, I totally loved your review. Long reviews just mean there's more time to smile or laugh. I totally know what you mean about the romance v. angst and drama, I am like the cheesiest person there is, I only buy happy little chick flicks, yet all throughout a creative writing class I took I was positive my teacher would have me either put on drugs or institutionalized. It's human nature or something…Thanks for reading, oh and if it makes you feel better the living room scene caused like everyone to reply and our lives will always have deficits because dammit if the grass isn't always greener and all that crap.

Maria, okay I totally had Dream a Little Dream of Me, playing in my head as I wrote the last two parts of the story. Pretty decently similar songs, of course my song's still playing in my head like two days later.

* * *

**Chapter 62 **

_Passing _

* * *

The hours passed, though not quickly or rushed. Talk and touch filled the time along with sleep. Neither slept for long, short little naps were all their brains would allow. Serious topics were avoided, not once did they mention what would come later. 

She was staring out into the no longer black sky, wrapped in Logan's arms, even his leg was securely holding her to him, "Do you think we would have made it?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"If I made it back to the van that night." The what ifs had plagued them both, dozens upon dozens of what ifs, that they knew they could do nothing about, but it didn't make them leave.

"I'd like to think we would have. I don't know though."

"You know that whole thing with your life flashing before your eyes?"

He nodded, his chin moving along her hair.

"The bullet was coming at me, but I saw what we were supposed to have." Her life had flashed before her eyes, but that hadn't been what hurt. _What hurt was how close she'd come to having it all. _

"What'd you see?"

"Lydecker, Krit, Syl, Zack with us at Crash. Then we were back at the apartment, it was just us and candles…" she let out ragged breath followed by a laughed, "Probably should have figured out I was hallucinating because Zack gave us his approval."

Logan let out a low, throaty laugh behind her, his arms tightened around her.

"I wonder, I mean I know we wouldn't have Cale and I wouldn't…" she shook her head, "I still wonder though."

"I know" he nodded again; their entire lives were different because of that one single moment.

"Probably would have screwed it up." She said after some thought.

He laughed, "Probably."

She didn't say anything as he turned her towards him, but there was one thought on her mind as he sought out to comfort her, _I wish we'd just get the chance to screw up. _

-o-o-o-

Funny how normal they could be with the threat of it all ending, looming over their heads. They'd fallen back asleep shortly after the sunrise, only to be woken up by Cale bounding into the room and onto the bed shocking his parents into reality, causing blankets to fall and quickly be pulled back up. They followed Logan's normal routine of waking up with Cale of tickles and swinging, then realizing that unlike the previous afternoon clothing hadn't fallen by the bedside and they looked around the room before remembering their clothing was still in a heap in the bathroom. That resulted in careful maneuvering of pulling out the sheet and Max being wrapped only in the burgundy cloth as she dug through their bags, repeatedly looking back over to the bed and smiling.

Logan's arms around her looking over her shoulder as she flipped the pancakes having given her the job to see if she could actually do it now.

"Bubbles to top Logan" she laughed as she was happily trapped in his arms, "I got it."

"Just checking" he said dropped a kiss to her neck.

She resisted the urge to eat breakfast on Logan's lap, some things were too needy for even her to allow. Of course, she didn't fight it as he pulled her down as she stood to get more juice.

The hours started to slip by as they were happily ensconced in their little world. The hugs started to get longer, tighter, kisses more frequent. A dvd turned on, a timer was set. They didn't speak, except for gentle whispers of 'I love you.' A gentle shake of her head as he tried to move off of her, he stayed softly kissing her lips. "We'll be fine," he said eventually.

She nodded her head, her eyes glassy with tears she wouldn't allow to leave as she knew he was lying as their final minutes ticked off. His lips were on hers, their hands in each other's hair, their bodies pressed full into each other as the timer dinged. He lifted up and their eyes connected in a final stunned look before he rolled to the side, their bodies no longer touching.

That was it. It was over.


	63. Not Fair

**Thanks for reading guys and remember questions and/or comments are always highly welcomed. If it makes you feel better, I was emotional on the last one too. Also you guys are so much nicer than I am, when a writer makes me cry I yell at them.**

* * *

**Chapter 63 **

_Not Fair… _

* * *

She'd offered to drive as they were loading the car, but Logan just shook his head and said he was fine. One look at his weary, but alert eyes she'd known he'd been telling the truth and the short naps had left him rested enough. So here, they were Logan's eyes focused on the road and Max's looking out the window, sitting in the car in silence, easy to do since Cale was asleep, a cd softly drumming out the noise of the car and the road. 

_They couldn't be normal, they both knew it and accepted it. They'd_ stayed in bed a few minutes longer staring up at the ceiling as it hit them. The death they had known was coming. It was amazing how awkward things got so quickly. She'd sat up first with the blanket clutched around her trying to figure out how to get out of the bed. He'd leaned over and scooped up what remnants of their clothing had been within his reach, awkwardly passing over her clothing, making sure they didn't touch.

They returned out to the living room to find Cale almost dozing on the couch. Logan had asked her if she wanted anything to eat since they'd barely touched their lunch. She'd shaken her head and said a few minutes later maybe it would just be easier if they left now since Cale was ready for his nap early, making the car ride easier.

That had made sense at the time, of course now she were wishing he'd wake up and fill the car with chatter. Every once in awhile one of them said something and the other responded with a short answer. Mostly though they remained in silence trying to figure out exactly how their lives ended up this way. _Not being able to touch the person they loved…_

Made no sense…None whatsoever.

She wondered what would happen now. He wouldn't run away like last time, she knew that. She wasn't too sure about herself though. _She just wanted to lock herself in her room and hide._ Hide from the world that did this to them. Hide from everything that reminded her of Logan. Of the spikey haired, clean-shaven, gray sweater, blue jean-wearing guy next to her. The guy who she knew every inch of his body, what every spot tasted like, what his jaw tasted like with a cream sauce on it that she of course flicked up with a finger as they were cooking and then was pinned up against the counter until she removed it.

The guy, the next time she touched his temperature would soar, his skin would cover in hives and he would fall before her as his body started to shut down.

The guy, she would stand back and watch as he dated others, fell for others, moved on with his life and she would do the same. Otherwise, she'd watch as he fell before her, a misplaced touch, a kiss where there wasn't enough material…_Dozens of different ways for it to happen and it would. _It would happen and then it would happen again and they'd try to stay away, but it would happen again. Three times…A guaranteed three times Josh's blood would work.

It would happen again though their lives were intertwined; it would happen again…Maybe they'd get lucky…Maybe he'd pull through…She didn't want to imagine a world either way like that. _She'd lose him eventually… _

This way she got to keep him….Hard to imagine though.

His kisses, his touches belonging to someone else…

Hiding away from the word and licking her wounds definitely was sounding like a good plan right about now. Getting into her bed and pulling the blankets over her head…

She needed Zack right about now; she needed to hear him scream at her to be a soldier. Maybe then this wouldn't hurt so much.

-o-o-o-o-

Cale's chatter filled the final leg of the trip; causing his parents to snap out of their 'pity-us' mode. His words caused his parents to not only interact with him, but with each other. To laugh and give each other looks as he rattled on, his words completely undistinguishable even to them and then trying to piece it together, then laughing as they figured it out.

Finally they arrived at her apartment and Logan went to get Cale out of the backseat as Max moved around to the trunk. "Why don't you just keep him tonight?" she said with her bag across her back before Logan even had the strap undone.

"Are you sure?" he asked looking worried, she usually had him Sundays.

"Yea," she said with a shake of her head, "he's only going to be up for a few more hours, makes sense for him just to go with you now." The words were only the partial truth, it was the logical thing to do since she had work in the morning, but mostly she wanted to be alone and mourn.

"Okay" he said with a nod of his head, not wanting to push her farther and stepped back so she could say goodbye to Cale.

"Bye sweetie" she said ducking down to give him a kiss goodbye. "Be good for Daddy." She straightened up and looked at Logan as she shut the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said with a nod.

"Tomorrow" he repeated with his own nod and watched as she disappeared into her building before getting back into the car.

-o-o-o-o-

She pulled out her phone as she was unpacking her bag and pressed it on before tossing it to the bed. She groaned and looked at it in disgust as it started to beep. She did not want to listen to any of her friends problems right now; she wanted to wallow in her own. Of course, she picked it up anyway since something might be up with Josh or Cindy.

A look of annoyance passed over her face as neither of their voices came through her phone, but Alec's. "Okay come on guys I know you're not coming back to town, but at least pick up your phones. Okay I already left a message on Logan's. So I guess we'll just sit here and twiddle our thumbs until you guys decide you want to call us back. I'm really not kidding Max, call me back."

She made a face, wondering what was up as she hit seven and moved onto the next message. "Seriously, come on, it's Sunday. When the hell are you two coming home? We're at Logan's come straight here."

"Okay that really didn't sound good." She said the words aloud to the empty room as she moved to grab her coat and keys.

-o-o-o-o-

She pulled up in front of Logan's alongside Alec, Zen and Vida's bikes, definitely not a good sign. She bounded up the steps two at a time, various scenarios still running through her mind.

"Mommy" Cale happily exclaimed from the living room floor where Zen was building with him.

Logan looked up, already looking completely distracted by whatever problem he'd been dealing with for the past ten minutes.

"Look who finally decided to join the party." Alec said from where he was leaning up alongside Logan.

She shook her head, "What happened?"

"Chinese were a little more successful at their attempt at securing some Manticore technology." Logan said with his attention returning to the screen before him.

"Wait" Alec said looking down at shock, "They did this before."

"Tried to buy Brin. Who'd they get?" She said distractedly as she moved closer to look over Logan's other shoulder seeing that he was trying to track down their movements.

"Ty, an X-5." Alec supplied, "I can't believe you never mentioned this."

"Alec everyone knew to be on guard for anything." It was well known other countries would eventually want them as their own did, to be guinea pigs, soldiers and breeders. The ramifications of how powerful the US could become once more within just a few generations if the transgenics bred amongst the normal population was well known. "How do we know it was the Chinese?"

"He didn't come home, his girlfriend hit up his job a few hours later, a few people."

Zen cut off Alec, "We didn't until we told Logan everything we knew."

Alec shot a look over at his friend and then one to Max, "Can you find anything on his computer?"

"Some of us are more skilled than others. How's it coming Logan?"

"Can't find them in the city, but also haven't found any evidence of them leaving yet. Give me a few."

"In that case, I need food, I'm starving." She watched the corners of Logan's mouth twitch up as his eyes remained focused on the screen.

"Vida just walked down to get a pizza." Zen supplied.

"How long ago?"

"She should be back in a few."

She pouted as she sat down on the floor with him and Cale.

She realized something as they were all scattered about the living room, eating and doing their best to distract Logan from finding Ty, she didn't feel guilty. Manticore had tried to stop her and Logan again, every time they'd come close Manticore had interfered. Zack, being shot, the damn gossamer, they'd avoided their bad luck this time and she didn't feel guilty. Well at least not too guilty.

She looked over at Logan who now had Cale up on his lap as he tried to work, deciding it was the only place he wanted to be despite several attempts to convince him otherwise. A single hand holding their son in place as the other tried to accomplish everything on the computer. _No_, she took it back, she didn't feel guilty. Sorry for Ty, but not guilty or sorry about their time together.

He seemed to feel her eyes upon him and he looked over at her and smiled. No definitely not guilty or sorry. Happy…no matter what, she was happy, loved, no one could take that from her.


	64. Skin a Cow

Answers: 

The blood: Tests were run; 3-5 times Joshua's blood would cure Logan. Part of that was discussed in the chapter, "A Summer's Day," more of it was mentioned in other chapters though (the one with the sewers). That's also when it was discussed that the virus was not as virulent as Max feared, which is why they are in much closer contact now. They have not used any jet out of jail free cards yet, though they were repeatedly tempted too right after finding out.

Cale is 2 years, two months. Of course, that's only his approximate age.

And the story isn't over. You would think after 165 pages it would be, and almost 20 chapters what I expected it would be, but it's not.

**Thanks for reading guys! Oh and yea decided to skip the angst, anyone wants angst from them sleeping together go back and reread 'A Single Night,' figured I had enough in there for all the stories. **

* * *

**Chapter 64 **

_Skin a Cow? _

* * *

Max and Logan's Third Anniversary 

_Max Voiceover-_

Three full years.

Haven't really figured out if that seems too long or too short yet. My past before Logan is a haze, what was so important about it for me to remember? I kept everyone at arm's length, pretending to be close instead of actually being close. I didn't even realize the difference for so long.

_Three years though. _

It's a completely different scene, sure there's me and him and a child in a bed. That's child's ours though. We aren't strangers anymore.

He's cutting the zucchini and doesn't realize I'm watching him as he absentmindedly scratches his leg with his foot, which is always a funny sight in and of itself. But the amusement isn't alone, guilt still passes through me as I remember looking up and seeing him on the tv…

_Weird thing guilt, it lingers… _

Ignores the fact that he didn't blame me (angry maybe, but it was never blame); I think he realized pretty quick into our relationship if I could go back and save him from being hurt, I would have. The guilt also ignores the fact that he's fine that we'd been given back our Manticore miracle, all guilt focuses on is how I let him down.

-o-o-o-

Max finishes walking into the room, thrusting herself into the scene instead of observing it. "Need any help?" she asks with a smile.

He looks up and grins, melting away all of the cold thoughts, "Carrots by the sink? How many books did he talk you into?"

She laughs and sheepishly answers, "Only three."

"You know kids fall and hurt themselves."

Her mind knew that, her heart though…Well it was focused on the fact that she wasn't a normal mommy, she was a genetically enhanced mommy, she should have been able to prevent her son skinning his hands and knees as he tripped while running around Terminal City. Of course then her brain popped back into it and asked her why her son was running around the toxic dump, which she knew wasn't safe even though they'd done their best to clean up all of the debris that had accumulated with years of neglect.

Her heart and mind once more in accord she looked up at Logan and wondered what kind of monster wouldn't feel guilty after seeing their son's tear streaked face and loud cries. Of course, he'd only come onto the scene once their son's sobs had settled into smaller hiccupping cries. The guilt in her heart had doubled as their son had gone so willingly into his father's arms and out of hers. Then tripled as their son had cried for her as Logan cleaned his wounds increasing the pain that had just started to abate. By the time he was done and Cale was back in her arms, Max knew it was official she was the world's worst mother despite the fact that ten minutes later he was once more running around. _God damn guilt. _

"He's fine Max" Logan once more reassured.

"Did you see his face?" she asked looking up briefly before returning her gaze to the carrots before her.

He looked at her and shook his head slightly, he'd been the one to clean the gravel and dirt out of his son's wounds, he listened to him scream and hate him the entire time. He'd never felt like such a bastard in his entire life, which was saying a lot.

He continued to look over, the vegetables in front of him forgotten as he took in the dark curls falling in front of her face. Her face, worried, guilt-ridden, filled with love, just like her eyes... Three years ago, her expression had been cold, sarcastic, there was a wall up ten miles thick. She'd grown more beautiful than he could have ever imagined in these past three years. He remembered looking in the mirror with her_, that image paled to the one before him now. _

Her elbow and arm scratching the side of her ribs snapped him back into attention, "Are they itching you?" He asked, the ruins had come back. Of course, they'd come back after they'd figured it all out, her stomach and back covered with the solution to save humanity, the solution they'd come up with months earlier. He didn't know why it was timed like that, what Sandeman had been thinking or even if Sandeman had known about the gap in time between the original ones appearing and the second round that had appeared a week before…

_She stood before him hesitantly still fully dressed in jeans and a blue top wondering exactly how they were supposed to do this. Not long ago they had been lovers, he knew every inch of her body…Some might say that would make things easier, they knew for a fact it didn't. _

_"You know if you want I can give you the camera and Original Cindy—" _

_"No" she shook her head, she was being ridiculous, "might as well just get this over with. I can't even imagine what else this guy's gonna tell us." Her fingers lingered over the bottom hem of the shirt before she pulled it up in one quick move. _

_They were frozen looking across the few feet that separated them as she was standing before him in a black bra. He smiled uncomfortably as he went to grab the camera from his desk. _

_He'd bent down to take the photographs of the ruins covering her ribs and stomach before moving around to her back. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt his fingers over the clasp of her bra that she ordered away. _

She looked up confused before she looked down and realized what she was doing, she shook her head, the ruins had halfway faded and didn't bother her physically in the least, mentally yes, but not physically.

"You give any more thought to what Alec suggested?" He asked moving the cutting board next to the stove.

She gave him a look.

"Max, it's not the worst idea in the world." Now that they knew the actual date for when the comet was passing and when they could possibly have a whole bunch of pissed off Familiars after them quitting her job once more made sense at least for a while. She'd flipped out over that, just like them suggesting her hair be returned to its previous color. She was sick of running from those psychos, she wasn't doing it anymore. She continued to glare, "Guessing that's a no," he said as he turned on the stove.

She gave a slight nod of her head and hoped she wasn't being stupid along with being stubborn.

-o-o-o-

She laughed hearing Logan on the phone with Alec trying to explain exactly what sautéed onions looked like. She felt his pain; recipes were a challenge even for them. Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, things like that were easy…Medium heat for five minutes, a breeze. Sauté though….there were dozens of terms and instructions that the only way you'd know what you were doing was if you'd done it before.

They'd been done with dinner for awhile still just sitting at the table talking about nothing in particular as the phone had rung and Alec's late night dinner for Asha was hanging on the line. She was walking around the living room now with her glass of wine listening to Logan walking Alec through everything that was supposed to happen. She paused and picked up a picture taken at the cabin. She smiled remembering trying to find the exact spot to put the camera and trying to adjust everyone before the camera started. She had a similar picture up in her room, the three of them on the couch_. Their family portrait. _

Out of nowhere, it flashed Max back to that night, early evening before dinner, Logan walking into their room as she was popping a pill into her mouth. Weird how significant a little birth control pill could be. They'd both frozen for a split second as it hit them once again.

Their family would never grow larger. Then again that would be their only night as a 'normal' family, the family they wanted to be.

Original Cindy had asked her before she went away with him what would be so bad if she got pregnant, why was she taking birth control when all she'd dreamed about for months was of a little girl resting in her arms staring up at her with Logan's eyes. There had been the main reason, no way she could stay away from Logan expecting their child, she would want him there, he would want to be there at every single moment and they were as always desperately trying to avoid slipping back into that. Then the problem after that was while her egg most likely didn't carry the virus, any child she carried had a pretty good chance of developing it while she was pregnant. Bev had offered a solution when Max had talked to her, a surrogate and in-vitro, that would be the only way they could be guaranteed a biological child that wouldn't kill her father. _The absurdity of her life was overwhelming. _

"Why didn't he just make something he's seen you make before?" Max asked not lost enough in her own thoughts to have not heard Logan saying goodbye.

"When does Alec ever do anything the easy way?" He paused and corrected himself, "Easy for us?"

"Good point," she smiled. "So what do you want to do now?" Their normal post dinner activities normally consisted of the tv being on low as they commented over it or ignored it altogether and talked about what was going on or Eyes Only/Transgenic stuff…Neither were really anniversary activities.

He stopped and looked around the room, hoping to find inspiration in something.

"Chess?" she asked seeing the game in the corner.

He turned back with a look.

"You've improved a lot in the past three years."

The look continued, they still played chess on the rare occasion and on the even rarer occasion, he actually beat her, sure their games lasted longer now, but the outcome was the same 9 out of 10 times, she won. Of course playing with Max for three years meant he could easily trounce Alec or Zen, Max though…He shook his head.

She chuckled softly, "War?" she suggested knowing the card game to be pure luck.

He laughed, "I'm gonna go grab the wine, we'll think of something."

They didn't though. They started talking and forgot all about looking for an activity to occupy their time. Nothing of any extreme importance, a few brief words of the Chinese going after another transgenic since she and Vida had rescued Ty from an airplane hanger, much to the dismay of Alec and Zen, who arrived at their location as the last man fell.

A few freaked out words from Max and the rumor that had started circulating at work again about something going on between Gem and Normal. Logan laughed, which resulted in a gloved hand connecting with his shoulder, totally outraged that he could find something so horrifying, funny. _Gem and _ _Normal_

In the end, what it came down to was it was just another day together. Another day just being Max and Logan and all that entailed. Their minds both briefly flashed back at times to their first anniversary and its failure, the reattempt at it the next night. What it had felt like in those few precious seconds realizing the person they loved more than anything else loved them back before it all went so dark and horribly wrong for so long.

That second anniversary, the words whispered over a baby's head as they were unaware they were becoming a family.

Their third anniversary…Hmmm….Three years…_How was it possible she could still see the look in his eyes through that broken window?_ How had it taken so long to realize that peculiar feeling coursing through her body were the first stages of love?

Bells jingled. She laughed, "I cannot believe you tied bells to his door." She said to the standing Logan.

He chuckled moving out of the room and bounded up the stairs before their son attempted his nine millionth climb over the safety gate. He was lifting his son as he stepped over the gate laughing to himself, monkeys, cats, sharks. His once quiet life had turned into a zoo, yet he'd never been happier.

* * *

Okay if you thought that was angsty, it really wasn't supposed to be. The leg thing is just something I think Max would remember on their anniversary, the mother thing, yea well that's just mom's, how they do it I don't know, my aunt-guilt kills me and I needed to throw in the ruins thing (just to resolve it) and the baby thing I thought I should mention that because I had Max so focused on their future family waiting for the cure. Honestly though, they're happy I swear. 


	65. Life

X-318: Never apologize for asking questions, this story's at like the 170 page mark, too much to remember and too much to wade through to find the answers yourself. Oh and the bells thing that was actually supposed to flash you back to the time things got a little hot and heavy in the living room when they'd realized they were a family. Of course no one was going to remember that unless they had just read the whole thing straight through, so it was probably in there more for me than you guys, but I must share anyway.

**He jumped as she spoke over his shoulder looking at the picture. –"Sorry" she laughed-****He shook his head, "It's fine, gotta get used to it again." _That or tie a bell around her neck,_ how many times had he thought about that. **

Oh and Normal isn't gay, he's desperate. The guy he fell for was actually a woman at the point he fell for her and he certainly enjoyed the strip club. He just kinda had a guy crush on Alec, it happens and it's just about as ewwy as the thought of Normal with Gem. I do believe Normal is the eww factor in all of that. And the story isn't a dream, there may be more dream chapters, but the whole story isn't a dream.

**To those who are trying to figure out what happened to the X-5 at the end of 63: **

It was a passing line in the last chapter. **A few brief words of the Chinese going after another transgenic since she and Vida had rescued Ty from an airplane hanger, much to the dismay of Alec and Zen, who arrived at their location as the last man fell.** His location was tracked down, the girls came and kicked ass, which you know is never okay with Alec, Ty was returned to his girlfriend. The threat of people/countries/organizations coming after them is not over and will probably never be over.

Aside from all that, I hope you guys like the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 65 **

**Life **

* * *

Early Summer: 

She was slightly bent to the side trying to hold onto her son as the other hand pushed the stroller he had refused to remain in therefore killing any idea she'd had for the casual morning walk over to Logan's. She boarded the bus with Cale and stroller in tow instead of returning to the apartment for the car. Out of the corner of her eye as turned onto Logan's street, she saw Logan and Alec doing the same on the opposite side, though they were taking the corner at a brisk jog.

She easily tossed the little boy up into her arms as he tried to break away and cross the street as his father was doing the same. She frowned taking in their sweat soaked appearance, not shocking for Logan, but pretty damn odd for Alec.

Alec caught sight of her look, " Logan." He said shooting a look across at his jogging partner.

"People were starting to stare." He said defending his actions and smirked remembering dumping the water on Alec. "Hey Cale" he said stretching out his hand to touch his son's cheek.

"No they were staring at how much you were sweating."

Logan turned and shot a look across at Alec.

Max chuckled pulling back their son as he tried to move into his father's arms.

"Or the fact that you're starting to look like Grizzly Adams." Alec tacked on.

Max once more chuckled, it was an apt description, Logan's scruff had evolved into a full-grown beard and his hair was almost the length it had been before she was shot the second time.

"Cale and I are getting haircuts today."

"And the beard?" Max asked.

"I was lazy this week?" He'd been meaning to shave, but since he was going to the barber's anyway…

"Something happen to the car?" he asked looking down the street to his house and not seeing her car there.

"Tried to go for a walk."

He just laughed at that one, not one of her smarter moves.

"Feel like skipping the barber and coming with me to TC?" she asked.

"Sure…Any special reason?"

She shook her head, "No, just told Josh I'd come by."

"Daddy" their son said as he once more tried to move into his father's arms.

His hand again reached out to touch his son's cheek instead of take him into his arms.

"Anyone know why we aren't walking back to the house?" Alec asked leaning up against a gate, not that he wasn't having fun being completely ignored like usual.

Max and Logan both shot a look at Alec and he suddenly felt sorry for what Cale was going to be facing for the rest of his life.

They were standing on the porch as Logan was about to unlock the door and the next thing he knew his son was tumbling towards him and out of Max's arms as she'd finally let her guard down preparing to lower him to the floor.

Logan gave a not entirely surprised and very resigned smile to his son's actions.

"I told you the kid doesn't understand no." Alec declared self-righteously, he warned them time and time again, but no…no one ever listened to him.

"Looks like Cale's showering with you." Max said with a small laugh.

Logan just nodded as he sighed.

-o-o-o-

"You know you should work out more Maxie" Alec said taking up a position at the kitchen table as Max grabbed the carton of OJ out.

She gave him a look.

"What I'm just saying, it would make sense for you to keep in shape." _Why did females offend so easily?_ They might be X-5's but there was a difference between being an in-shape X-5 and an out of shape one, they could always be better, faster, stronger.

"Do I or do I not whoop your ass every single time we fight?"

"And people talk shit about my ego." He muttered under his breath, but then it suddenly occurred to him that if Max worked out anymore than biking around the city and occasional sparring with him, her statement would actually be true so he let it drop. "Hey" he exclaimed as he saw her putting the juice back in the fridge after pouring a glass.

"What?" she said turning.

"You pour some for yourself and not for me?"

"Did you say you wanted any?"

"I just jogged 7 miles."

She rolled her eyes and opened the fridge back up.

-o-o-o-

"So did Logan tell you about meeting with his old editor?" he said awhile later trying to shift the conversation away from himself.

A frown, "No, why was he meeting with him?"

"They had lunch the other day; he offered him his old job back."

_Why the hell was Alec the one telling her this and not Logan_? "Is he going to take it?"

"It's not like he can Max unless you're planning on quitting."

With her final frown, he realized it was take to take his leave, "I should be getting back home. I'll see you guys at Terminal City later?"

She absent-mindedly nodded.

-o-o-o-

"No Cale you've got to go with the grain not against it" she heard his voice saying as she walked through the open bedroom door.

"Isn't he a little young for shaving lessons?" she asked leaning up against the bathroom's doorway viewing Cale with shaving cream on his face turned around on the counter looking into the mirror mimicking his father's movements. Logan smiled into the mirror, "Hey if he wants to do it I might as well teach him the right way."

She smiled again, trying to ignore the fluttering within her at seeing Logan with only a towel slung low across his hips, the full view provided to her since the mirror reflected almost all uncovered parts for her viewing pleasure. She forced her focus away and onto their son partially redressed for the day in a white tee shirt and jean shorts. "You're aware he's going to have to be changed again." She said watching a flicker of foam fall down to his shirt.

He gave a look down to the toddler's shirt, "It's white, that'll come out with a washcloth."

_Wow, he really is lazy this week._ "So Alec said you had a meeting with your old editor."

He frowned into the mirror, "I had lunch with Tom yesterday, it wasn't a meeting though."

"Oh"

"We just ran into each other."

"Oh, so he didn't offer you a job?"

_Ah, so there it was, the actual question,_ "He always offers me a job Max. I resigned, I wasn't fired."

"You know if you want to you can take it."

He turned for that statement instead of just looking into the mirror.

"We can figure something out with Cale, I could…" she realized she was about to offer to go back to waitressing so she stopped herself, she did love Logan, she wanted him to be happy and fulfilled, but there had to be a better solution than that. "Josh, I bet Josh would watch him."

He chuckled, "I'm not going back to work Max, don't worry."

"Why not?"

He knew her reason behind asking that, Eyes Only no longer took up as much of his time as it once did, a serious benefit from not only being fully vertical himself, but having several more than trustworthy legmen. Hell Alec and Zen were more than just legmen, there were times they did as much work as he did. Why not had been the question he'd been asking himself since yesterday afternoon, he knew the reason, the little boy beside him, he had somehow turned into his mother and not even noticed. "Maybe when he's in school Max," he refrained from groaning afterwards at the pain of actually admitting it aloud.

She couldn't help but smile at his attempt at hiding his embarrassment, kinda reminded her of his lyrical pen scratchings.

"I at least want to enjoy the summer with him." He tacked on before he turned his attention back onto shaving.

She thought about mentioning that his dad got things like this wrong, the clear devotion and love for their son was even manlier, and certainly sexier than the poetry. She decided in the end though, to let the moment go before he grew more embarrassed, that and her attention was distracted between thinking about how cute father and son looked shaving and how downright amazing Logan looked clad only in a towel.

-o-o-o-

TC (mid-afternoon): 

They both cracked up at the sight before them. Joshua and Cale sitting on Josh's floor bright finger paintings before them, the primary colors splattered across them on them and on Cale faux fur earmuffs oddly fashioned to his head. Their words suddenly came back to haunt them, repeatedly telling Josh if he wanted to finger paint with Cale, it had to be kept out of his ears unlike the first and second times. Cale managed to keep it out of his mouth and eyes on his own, not his ears. Yet they never expected to walk in and see their son in a pair of fuchsia earmuffs that covered half of his head.

"You told me to keep his ears clean." Joshua said as Max was gesturing towards the earmuffs, but laughing too hard to actually say anything. "Ears clean." He said raising up a muff.

"Yea they are Joshua," Logan said with a nod moving over to the paint streaked pair, "thanks."

"Good thinkin Josh." Max said with a nod.

"Hey buddy nice look." Logan said squatting down before his son who was smiling brightly as his father removed the earmuffs. Just then a brownish purple hand came in contact with Logan's face, right between the eyes, on his glasses and nose. Logan and Max froze in shock as Cale laughed, then came the other hand alongside his cheek, "Pretty Daddy"

His mouth open in shock as his son was laughing; Logan took off his glasses and just looked down at them. It took several moments before the shock wore off and he joined Cale in laughing, finally allowing Max and Josh to do the same.

-o-o-o-

She was standing in the middle of the main hall, she'd just been talking to Gem still trying to weasel information out of the girl about her relationship with Normal which had been the main topic of gossip at work for months. Either nothing really was going on between the young girl and their boss or she was pretty damn good at hiding it. She let out a deep sigh of impatience as her eyes scanned the room wondering if she should wait here or go looking for Logan, who should have definitely been back by now from cleaning up their son and himself.

For a split second, she was positive she was hallucinating as she saw her brother simply dressed in a pair of jeans and white tee shirt, his hair floppy as usual. Then the fear started to race through her, _is that why _ _Logan__ was taking so long_? Was Logan now lying dead in the bathroom? Victim to her brother's programming?

_Oh god and what about Cale. _

She could see the scene so vividly in her head, Zack coming up around Logan, his hands around his neck before he could even scream. She could see Cale launch himself at anyone trying to hurt his father, attacking his legs as he would when mock fighting Alec. She could see Zack barely even notice kicking a small child off of his legs and into a wall…

Logic reentered her brain… _Logan__ wouldn't have had a chance to struggle…_He probably didn't feel a thing. The faintest touch upon his neck before Zack snapped it. _Her son sitting beside his father trying to shake him awake as if he were only sleeping… _

She should probably be flying towards him right about now as the soldier in her had been trained to do. Not even a slight tremor passed through her body. Just absolute stillness as her body fought to decide if it was going to be throwing up or passing out.

"You lied" he smiled.

She continued to stare.

"The hospital, I asked if I knew you…"

His words, his demeanor started to sink in. _He didn't know her_, if he didn't know her, he didn't know Logan, Logan was tied into her or at least she thought he was. Zack certainly wasn't acting like he'd-

"Mommy"

She turned at the voice flying towards her, scooped him into her arms and held him tighter than she'd ever held him before as she saw Logan's brief smile by the entrance before it turned into one of shock, Alec's words froze mid conversation as he saw who Logan was fixated on. Alec moved in front of Logan without thought, making sure he could easily block the other man's attempt at getting to him.

Zack had smiled at first seeing the little boy running towards her, but his face had too settled into one of shock, seeing how she was desperately clinging to the little boy, while looking across at the other two men who had just entered the room.

"Baby" she said looking into her son's blue eyes, while ever so aware of the other blue eyes focused on the scene before him.

"Notta baby." He adamantly declared.

"I know" she said kissing his head, "You're a big boy. Go to Daddy though? Mommy's gotta take care of something."

He looked at her puzzled and she realized she hadn't done a very good job at hiding her feelings, he was about to protest before his father called to him.

"Come on Buddy" Logan said from the doorway, "Let's go get your painting from Josh."

"Paint?" his eyes twinkled at the thought of returning to one of his favorite activities.

"Maybe, let's go see Josh."

He allowed his mother to put him down and headed back over to his father, only pausing once to look back at her, still unsure he should be leaving.

"Alec go with them." She said as Cale was lifted up into his father's arms.

"If you think I'm leaving you here with this-"

Alec didn't get to finish his words as Logan's hand clamped down around his arm and gave him a look not to fight her after all no matter what Alec still held their brother's face.

"You're scared of me." He said as the others had left the area and she had turned back to him with a fierce resolve in her eyes.

Scared _Was she really scared of her brother?_ Her brother…She would have been dead without him. She loved him, she missed him more than any of her other siblings, but he was right she was scared of him. Petrified. _He could take it all away._ He could take away everything she'd ever dreamed of, everything she never thought she was worthy of, he could take it away in an instant.

"You're the one I hurt."

His words shocked her, but she realized Zane must have told him something to keep him out of Seattle when all other transgenics were here. He was right, she was the one he'd hurt, the one he would hurt if he stayed. Logan would be gone forever and she would have to live with it.

"You gonna say anything?"

Her mouth opened and remained that way for a second before she found the words to speak, "You have to leave."

"I just got here. I need answers."

"Adam, you need to go."

"Adam is that really my name?"

She shook her head, "Adam and Eve. You were the first, the oldest of us, it made sense."

"So what's my name?" he said moving closer to her.

She shook her head.

"It's my name I deserve to know it." He said moving closer to her, his words growing angry.

"I wish I could tell you." The guilt was overwhelming; she was depriving him of his life to preserve her own.

"Tell me what they did to me?" He needed answers, over a year and only vague answers, _how was he supposed to live like that?_

She just looked at him.

"You're the one I tried to-"

She shook her head.

He thought for a second, wondering what else could make her react like this, "That other guy? Your husband?" he frowned looking across at her hands to find them hidden by gloves, "Your kid's dad?"

She nodded

"Why would they-"

"He's one of the good guys." Her eyes welled up. "You are too. But I can't…I can't let you take him from me."

She was so vulnerable standing before him, he wanted to take her into his arms, he could feel his love for her, he didn't know her, but he could feel his love.

"I almost killed you last time. I'll finish before I let you hurt him."

He was frozen by her words, her voice steady, but he could feel the layers of emotions behind those words. "I need answers."

She nodded, "I don't know what-" She didn't know what the triggers were, she knew one, her name/face/barcode, who's to say how many other things could have triggered it.

He stopped her from having to speak, "I loved you."

She nodded.

"You love me too?"

"You're my brother." She said simply, hoping afterwards that wasn't too much information.

"And he's your-"

"Everything."

"What happened last time?"

She looked up into her brother's face, had he ever been this nurturing? This caring? This patient? "I forced you to remember. You seemed fine or I…" she just shook her head. "After the memories started to come back so did the programming and…Nothing was going to stop you from killing him, not even me."

"How'd you?" he tapped his head, "I don't remember any of it."

"A little water a lot of electricity." She gave a small chuckle.

"Toaster in the bathtub?" he smiled trying to put her at ease.

"Something like that."

They simply looked across at each other.

"I wish things were different Adam."

"You're really not going to tell me my name?"

She shook her head.

"Or yours?"

She shook her head again.

"That can't be all you're gonna tell me."

"You saved my life. I would be dead if it wasn't for you. You kept us all safe, but you saved my life. I love you, that's why you need to leave."

His mouth opened to fight her.

"We got a second chance Adam. Manticore's gone. Being normal" she shook her head, "It's everything we thought it would be."

He nodded his head, "Go back to your family."

Tears welled up in her eyes again at the word family.

"Take care little sister" he said before he turned and he never knew as he said that, it was Zack finally letting her go, allowing her to let go.

* * *

Okay I can't remember who had wanted a Zack scene (it was awhile ago), but you got it stuck in my head. I don't remember if this is the scene I wanted though since originally I was going to have it in the previous summer, but there were too many other things going on. Oh well I hope you didn't hate it (if you're still reading). 


	66. Irresponsible

**AN: Okay as Babyangel pointed out, sometimes the back story that I have in my mind fails to appear on screen. **

**The jogging scene(assuming you mean the sweat comment): The same thing that everyone else puts in their story…Max never seems to sweat unless she's in heat, so I assume the same for Alec (I don't recall him being sweaty at the fights….Seriously injured afterwards, but not sweaty). So after awhile jogging Logan and Alec have got to look pretty mismatched, hence water being dumped on Alec which explained his damp appearance. **

Umm for all of you who are living in fear that Logan's hair is continuing to be a mess, he and Cale did make it to the barber the next day.

* * *

**Chapter 66 **

_Irresponsible_

* * *

**_A few weeks into the future…. _**

There were moments in his life where Logan wondered if there truly was a god. His parents deaths, the pulse, lying on the street waiting to die, doing the same as he was thrown off the hotel, _waking up in the van and realizing Max was gone… _

None of those really compared to his thoughts regarding God now, if he/she/it existed; they had one really fucked up sense of humor. _He almost had it all._ Sure, he knew that sounded selfish, greedy…He had a woman who loved him, a great son, loyal and true friends, yet he didn't get to have her fully. Funny, he had more than he ever imagined yet he felt gypped.

Of course, it didn't help that she was in his backyard in a black bikini that had enough material for him to make a hat out of. He took a long swallow of beer, which he explained away since it was pretty hot out today and walked away from the dining room window that he'd just waved to Max and Cale from.

That bikini was cruel and unusual punishment.

Sure, he was glad that this summer was more relaxed than the last one; he could actually wear shorts without being yelled at, that was nice.

But seeing Max in those tiny little scraps of material…So much of the skin that he could still vividly remember what it felt like, what it tasted like…

_Yea God had a twisted sense of humor. _

"Let me guess," Alec with a matching beer in his own hand said walking into the living room a few moments later, where Logan had paced to, "you're trying to remember exactly how long in between you touching her and you can't move anymore."

Logan glared, partially because it was true, "Weren't you working on your bike or something?"

"Finished," he nodded and didn't add that it had definitely taken longer because his eyes kept drifting over to the pool and he'd almost done serious damage to his bike because Max jumped out of the small plastic pool to go chasing after a ball that had escaped. "You know you never shared any details about your weekend," he goaded.

"Don't you have a home of your own Alec?" Logan asked in annoyance, normally he didn't mind Alec's frequent visits, but today was pushing it.

"Someone's gotta chaperon you two," he smiled. "You and Max, summer heat," he reminded his friend.

"Why is nothing private in this group?" Logan asked, since it had been Zane and not Alec that had interrupted last summer.

"Twenty years without gossip," Alec explained with a shake of his head.

"Ugh," Logan said taking another sip and angrily sitting down in his desk chair.

"You're really having a bad day aren't you?" He controlled his laughter as he realized Logan was horny. Logan and horny, two words he never really connected with each other. He bit back a smile as he thought of going home to tell Asha. Logan, focused, serious, dependable, mature Logan…Yea he was horny…Then he frowned realizing there was no way in hell he was connecting Logan and sex while talking to Asha. "No new leads?"

Another glare, apparently the side effect of having the object of Logan's desire virtually naked, glistening with water and seconds away was a really pissed off Logan.

"I'll take that as a no," he nodded. Almost five months now. Five months on top of all of the months before. They hadn't resorted back to trying to move on, though he was sure if anyone asked them they'd say they were and that was the reason no one asked them. They…well Max didn't push it like she had last time, she didn't want to move on, he didn't want to move on. Everyone knew they were heading for heartache either way, they might as well be happy in the meantime.

Not that they went back to the way they were in those months waiting for the cure that never came. They shared a couple meals together a week now, more often than not they had company besides Cale, they rarely sat sequestered away from everyone while out or at least not for long. Still though, neither so much even looked at another, which was good for him because he liked the new waitress at the café by their new job site and would like to continue eating there.

It also made him feel slightly better about the fact that Asha had been over at Logan's almost everyday this month since she'd lost her job and hadn't found a new one yet. Asha…

He didn't know what he expected when they moved in together again. He always knew it wouldn't be like it was with Rachel, but….Eh who knows, maybe it was just that he did what it seemed half of the other transgenics had done, fall into a relationship. Some tried to tough it out alone, but maybe it was just that they didn't know how to be alone, they'd spent their entire lives with others, the same others, day in, day out. Or who knows maybe it was just that they weren't complete on their own, so many parts of them had never developed, it took two to form a full person. More than a few people had their theories on it, but mostly what it came down to was they were searching. Searching for somewhere to belong, something to make them normal, just something…

Some of them found it…he turned to look at Logan who was obviously only remaining seated at his desk to try to trick Alec into believing he was more relaxed than he really was…He wasn't too sure about the rest of them though.

Max and Logan…They were complete, they'd found it, found what the rest of them were still looking for.

He smiled to himself as he caught sight of Logan's foot tapping. _Haha, at least he wasn't horny though. _

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**_A few weeks later… _**

They were definitely pushing the limits. Though this hadn't really been the way she'd been expecting to push the limits. Definitely more enjoyable images had come to her mind when she'd thought of that. They didn't do that though. His hand no longer even lingered like it once had, prolonged touches rare…All prolonged touches accomplished now was bring about a sense of longing and despair….fill them with the memories of what once was, memories that already haunted them and they needed no further reminders.

Here they were though, sitting in the Aztek, Logan driving as she stared out the window trying to figure out exactly he had talked her into this. Cale of course being a chatter bug in the backseat mostly having all of his questions answered by his father as his mother contemplated telling him to let her out.

They were going to Bennett and Marianne's for some summer fun in the pool. Not that she was going into the pool, though Logan had tried to rationalize that there was a good chance they could both be in the chlorinated water at the same time, she wasn't falling for that one though. He hadn't wanted to go alone and she didn't really blame him since this would only be the second time he'd seen his family with Cale since Logan told him Cale was his. The first being just another run in, in the city and he wouldn't be able to plead an emergency and get out of it as he could on the phone.

So they were going to the gated community for lunch and a swim, well a swim for the boys, it wouldn't be shocking to anyone that Max just wanted to lay on a lounger instead of dive in. Max let out a deep sigh and braced herself for the day as Logan made the turn that would lead them to way too much skin.

-o-o-o-

"So any words of wisdom?" Marianne asked as Max was reapplying sun block to Cale's slightly golden skin.

"Huh?" Max asked turning, the other woman had been talking about her and Bennett thinking about starting a family.

"Pregnancy, childbirth, the mood swings, the pain…" Marianne started with the basics.

"Uh," Max cursed herself. S_he should have been ready for the lies, _but parents at the park didn't talk about those things, they talked about what the kids were doing now, what was ahead of them. "You know I'm probably not the best person to ask about that, seems like one day he was just there in Logan's arms." She smiled and rubbed Cale's arms one final time, "You're all set kiddo." She released his arms for the briefest of seconds and she felt him started to take off, she clamped her hands down again, "Walk, don't run," she ordered.

She smiled proceeding to watch him do that, Logan swam back over to the edge and made a production of lifting Cale up and diving him into the water, Max laughed listening to her son squeal.

"There's certainly no doubting who his daddy is," Marianne smiled.

Max smiled back knowing the other woman wasn't calling her fidelity into question, "Yea, they're attached at the hip."

Marianne smiled and once more wondered exactly how to get information out of the young girl who had produced the youngest Cale, albeit illegitimate Cale, though with the long list of things the Cale family had done wrong in the passing years, a child born out of wedlock was pretty low on the list of scandals. No one knowing about him for over a year after his birth…That was another story.

Even the great distance Logan had put between him and his family in the years since the Pulse didn't explain why no one knew the child that was so obviously his existed. His coloring was all Logan, his mannerisms the same and his attachment made it obvious he wasn't just a weekend dad.

"So you guys went out to the cabin a few months back right? Bennett and I just made it out last weekend."

Max turned and looked slightly puzzled, exactly how had the other woman known that she had been there?

"Donna, she works at the market," Marianne supplied the source of her gossip, the gossip that had said Logan had been in town with his wife and son, the word wife was used since they were more than slightly affectionate even in public.

"Oh," Max nodded and wondered exactly what she was supposed to say to that, after all she and Logan weren't supposed to be together, going away was pretty together.

"So what did you guys do?" Marianne asked.

"Not much," Max shook her head, "just relaxed, needed a few days away from the city. It's not really a place to take a toddler in winter."

"I can just imagine," Marianne smiled and wondered if she should ask straight out what the hell was going on between the two of them. Talk after her own wedding had been rampant about the two of them, the incredibly young date by Logan's side, which no one knew anything about, but who had apparently been there for well over nine months before. Through it all in some shape or form.

A relationship before the shooting that had resulted in a pregnancy, a child that had been born before her own wedding, yet Max had been introduced as a friend and had barely been by his side. She'd been by his side again and once more without their son at her father in law's funeral. That machine that made him walk and through whatever treatment that had been successful in restoring his legs…

And they had been oblivious to it all. One day he had been paralyzed and alone and the next he was walking, had apparently been in some type of committed relationship and had a son and the family was once more left to speculate.

She was trying to appear inconspicuous watching the other female, looking for clues; she hadn't really figured anything out yet. Donna had repeatedly mentioned how physically affectionate they were with each other and Marianne didn't think she'd even seen them touch. They'd headed over to the pool after their light lunch in which the focus had been more on Cale and their house which Logan and Max had never seen before than anything else. The boys had all headed straight into the pool once they'd arrived and Max had dropped herself into a lounger and pulled on sunglasses.

Marianne watched Logan depositing Cale on the edge of the pool sometime later; the little boy stood to the side and waited for his father pull himself up and out of the pool. Marianne tried not to look noticeable in appreciating her cousin-in-law body, but even Bennett himself had commented on it as they'd gone to procure refreshments, saying that he didn't think Logan had ever been in such good shape. He certainly seemed years younger than the two times Marianne had met him before, younger and certainly much happier.

She caught sight of Max's attention also focused there and the small smile that graced her lips watching Logan pull himself up.

"Bathroom," Max replied as she realized the other woman was looking at them getting out too. She was partially smiling wondering exactly how single mothers did it because potty training her son was not something she would have enjoyed experiencing without Logan there to guide the way and probably would have put off for quite some time. But mostly smiling at the pale blue trunks that hung low on his hips, amazed he hadn't repainted Cale's room to his favorite color, but then realized to give him time and she was sure it would happen, the moment the paint started showing any signs of wear.

"Oh," Marianne nodded and watched as sure enough Logan walked back over with his son and retrieved their sandals and repeated what Max had said.

-o-o-o-

Bennett and Marianne stood on their porch as Logan pulled away. They'd realized it was time to go when Max had looked down and realized the bundled up tot that had been resting in her arms was actually asleep. She'd smiled something about naptime coming early as she'd woken him up and changed the grumbling tot as Marianne watched the younger woman's dexterity and patience.

The little boy had almost fallen back asleep when his father had rejoined the scene after being shown the tennis courts by Bennett, who was hoping his older cousin, would come and visit again. Cale had been quite vocal in his demands of being released from his mother's arms to go to his father; both parents had looks quite embarrassed and muttered something about him being two.

So he'd slept as his father carried him to the car and placed him in his child seat, never again opening those baby blues to say goodbye. Max had waved, Logan had nodded and Marianne leaned into Bennett and asked, "Did you figure out anything?"

"Swears they aren't together, says it just didn't work out."

"That makes no sense," Marianne replied with a shake.

Bennett nodded after spending the entire day trying not to check out his second cousin's mother, " Logan seems happy."

Marianne frowned, "They all do." _That's why that whole thing of them not being a couple made no sense. _

"Can she even drink yet?"

Marianne laughed; Ben had focused on her age for days after finding out Logan had a child with her, "She just turned 22." Marianne shared the information she had learned and smiled remembering Max's present of not only pressed handprints in clay, but also a smooshed face, which was really more of a nose and lips imprint.

"He should have married her," Bennett said with a shake of his head turning into their house.

"You know in his defense, he had a lot going on," she defended the man she barely knew; it certainly didn't look like he'd shirked in his duties.

"Oh you mean like the fact he got himself shot, while he had a pregnant teenage girlfriend?" He asked not missing a beat, wondering how the hell his cousin could have been so irresponsible.

"We don't know what happened," Marianne reminded following her husband.

Bennett turned and didn't look very convinced.

"At least we know he's been there since Cale was born," that had been discussed before today, if maybe Logan really just hadn't been part of the boy's life and that's why they hadn't known of him, "Max said he was there in the delivery room."

"I just can't believe Logan didn't marry her," he said moving into the kitchen to pour himself a drink.

"He probably didn't want her to feel bound to him, obligated."

He was about to say something, but was once more confronted with how exactly he'd feel if he woke up and was told he'd never walk again, he'd probably tell Marianne to go out and find a real man, he doubted Logan had been so different, especially with someone as young as Max. "He's been walking for over a year, you yourself said they were together."

"Donna said it I didn't."

"Whatever," he said taking a sip of iced tea before continuing, "I just can't believe he'd be so irresponsible."

Marianne shook her head and took a sip of the tea he'd poured for her, there was going to be no getting through to him and she was pretty sure a good chunk of this was Logan's silence for over a year and had nothing to do with his actions towards Max and Cale.

"Kid's cute though," Bennett said with a pleased smile.

"Definitely adorable, you come from good stock Bennett Cale." She smiled and leaned over to kiss her husband.

* * *

**Hmm yea normally Outside and Embedded overlap, but it was Moving On and Embedded this time, but I couldn't put off a ** **Logan****'s family chapter any longer. I hope you enjoyed. I know, not much Max/Logan interaction, I'm sorry. **


	67. A Day Not Unlike Any Other

* * *

**Chapter 67 **

**A Day Not Unlike Any Other **

* * *

It was a day not unlike any other. Nothing had forewarned of what was to happen. It never did. The day with the crow, only one symbol of doom to prepare them for what lay ahead. Nothing had told her as she began the day as she always did that it would end being curled up on Logan's couch with Alec's arms around her. 

It made no sense... All the times they'd been fine…

Hell in the very room she was so frozen in, they had lain on the floor and…His lips had been upon her shirt, barely separated from her poisonous skin.

Only weeks earlier had Cale been passed back and forth between them, Logan's hands careful to only touch the little boy's swim trunks, where Max's hands had minimal contact with and retained the most chlorination until he rinsed the little boy off in the pool…

They had been walking that fine line, but not today. She'd taken off her gloves, but she was going to replace them…She'd been walking into the living room to grab another pair from her bag…_God she didn't even know what happened_. She could still see him, a white tee shirt with the sleeves cut off, khakis, he'd been going to leave the room as she was walking into it… She'd reached out, just like he had once before, she'd wanted to tell him about fuckin Alec… God she couldn't even remember what stupid comment Alec had made to her that she wanted to repeat. But, she'd grabbed him, _she'd felt his flesh upon her hand._ He'd felt it too and he looked down, her hand had snapped back, but it was too late. All he said was, "Shit," as he looked down, she remained silent as she realized what she'd done.

He looked up what seemed like an eternity later, but in fact was only seconds. _He didn't look scared, not like she did._ He looked worried seeing her face, "It's okay," he said going to raise his hand up to touch her cheek.

"No," she shook her head and stepped back.

He stepped forward and didn't let her escape him, "It's okay," he repeated bringing his hand up to her cheek.

"Josh," she spit out his name, she couldn't put anything else together just that they needed Josh.

"Shh," he whispered and brought his other hand around her waist and pulled her in close to him.

"No," she repeated, she didn't want to expose him anymore.

"Yes," he nodded and dropped his lips to hers.

She wished she could say she forgot all about the virus because of bliss his touch created, but she couldn't. She felt the love, the tenderness and she returned it, but she couldn't escape the fear.

He wouldn't let her go, he held her tight knowing she'd bolt, his lips refused to leave hers for anything more than to whisper to her and softly taste the skin he'd been so long denied. She felt his body start to slacken, but he refused to crumple, refused to give up his time with her before it was absolutely necessary. His strength feigned quickly until finally, he had no choice but to give in and her arm went around him before he fell far.

His body had gotten a super dose of the virus compared the previous two times and he was already unconscious by the time Max hung up the phone on Alec. She'd grabbed a pair of sterile gloves out of box he kept in his desk drawer and shook him, screaming his name at him. _He didn't even turn his head. _

She ran to the kitchen looking for ice to bring down his sudden fever, there were two trays and an icepack, she wondered if she should try a freezing cold bath as she was laying the pack across his forehead, then she debated dumping the entire contents of his freezer on him. Alec or Zen would be there soon, he'd told her to stay calm and neither lived too far by the time she got the bath filled they would be here.

"Mama…Daddy," Max was shocked out of her kneeling position before Logan by that strong little voice wondering where all of his attention had gone, unaware of what his mother had just done to his father. She almost remained frozen in her position, but as she heard the rattle of the gate at the top of the stairs, she took off before anything else could happen.

Her son was in her arms hysterically crying in reaction to all of the frightening emotions his mother was sending off as she was in Logan's bathroom filling the tub with cold water as she heard the door open and Alec screaming her name.

That had been almost nine hours ago, she didn't know how long it had been since she'd moved or when Alec's arm had wrapped around her in silence. Just sitting in the darkened room, only lit by the few streetlights, the humid summer heat the only thing filling the air as the house was quiet.


	68. Stillness

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Eight **

_Stillness _

* * *

Her eyes opened to soft green as she felt a hand slide through her hair and gently rest upon the back of her head, holding her gaze to him. There was only one expression, one emotion visible in those eyes and that was love.

_Pure, unadulterated love. _

"You're gonna get a kink in your neck," his voice whispered softly matching the tone set by the dark, still night.

She just continued to look at him. _She loved him so much_. More than anything she'd ever believed possible. More than should be possible. You shouldn't love like this…_The ramifications of what…_Her mind couldn't go there, couldn't think about it, couldn't comprehend it.

"Is your neck sore?" He asked lowering his hand to the body part in question, his hand tightening and moving over it to ease any discomfort.

She shook her head gently still just looking at him, knowing she couldn't live in a world without him. They could be any other family in this moment. Any normal family. Their son was asleep in bed; she'd simply fallen asleep on the couch…

_But they weren't. _

The day suddenly replayed itself in her mind. Alec slinging Logan over his shoulder and rushing up the stairs with him, drenching them both as he stood with him in the cold shower trying to wake Logan up and bring down his temperature. The series of curses as he realized Logan wasn't responding, even more through the pounding water as he found Logan's pulse and started to wonder if they even had enough time for Josh to even get there. Screaming at Max to bring the kit Bev had left. He didn't know the difference his blood would be to Joshua's, he didn't know what it would mean for Max and Logan, but he no longer cared. His voice hadn't remembered to be calm in those few moments; it missed the fact that Cale was hysterical in his mother's arms already and kept trying to break free to go to his father. _His father who was completely oblivious to the world around him. _

He had Logan stripped down to his boxers, soaking his bed, the needle poised to enter the vein as he heard the door open. Zen arrived with Josh and blood started to flow into Logan within a minute of their arrival. Asha arrived almost fifteen minutes later and Alec suddenly remembered he'd forgotten her at home; there had been no time to waste when he'd heard Max's voice. Asha had taken up a position at the top of Logan's bed as Josh leaned forward in a chair. Zen muttered something about going to go find ice. Max stood silently in the doorway just watching, rubbing Cale's back as the toddler continued to look distraught.

Alec stopped pacing, suddenly feeling useless and had gone and collected Cale from Max's arms, she'd looked up at him confused as her son slipped from her arms. Alec knew for a sure fact the last thing Logan would want is Cale watching this, so he took the boy back off to his own room. Max had followed, but she didn't react much once seated on the toddler sized bed as Alec attempted to distract the boy from the sudden crisis that had overtaken his house.

Alec hadn't known what was going on in the other room until Zen returned, shockingly enough with three bags of ice. He walked into Cale's room after placing the ice around Logan and all he did was silently shake his head. Max's mouth had dropped open, tears filled her eyes.

"He should be…" Zen's voice tapered off, he didn't want to say the words, "he should be responding by now." But he wasn't, his temperature was still climbing, his vitals nowhere near normal. They knew the drill; they knew detail for detail what had happened last time. "I'm gonna go call Shankar," he nodded and it was only the soldier for twenty years in him that kept the movement steady. They all knew what Bev would say, if Josh's blood didn't work, nothing would. Nothing could be done for Logan at a hospital, nothing that would have any type of real effect.

"How are you feeling?" She asked in a voice she could barely recognize as her own.

"Not bad," he said still holding her gaze, "kinda like the flu." He smirked to himself for a moment, "Not that you have any idea what that would feel like."

She smiled softly.

"I'm a little weak," he explained further, "I'll be fine in a few hours." He said knowing from experience the rush that would come with Joshua's blood in his system.

She still just remained focused upon his eyes, her mind just barely taking in the rest of his face. The lips that had a groan emerge from them after almost four hours of pure silence. It had taken almost an hour for his fever to stop spiking, another one after that for it to actually start to fall. Night had already fallen by the time his vitals returned to normal, his eyes had blinked a couple of times without full consciousness taking effect. Here he was though, now looking like he just needed a few hours of sleep. Which is odd considering all she'd been praying for all day was for him to just wake up.

"Are you okay?" he asked as his hand left her neck and traveled to her cheek.

A soft nod.

"You didn't run," he said simply.

Her head tilted into his hand wondering what he meant.

"I didn't know if you were going to be here," he'd woken to Alec dozing in armchair next to his bed, feet propped and all. The other man had barely stirred as Logan sat up and took several short sips of warm water that rolled around his stomach rather unpleasantly. He'd gotten dressed in silence wondering if this would be like every other time, if she would be gone. Part of him that first night had wondered if she had just been a vivid sickness induced hallucination.

She was here this time though, asleep on his couch. He'd paused for a moment just looking down at her, the innocence Manticore had never been able to steal just as he used to watch her after a seizure had subsided.

She continued to look puzzled at him for a moment until her sleep and fear addled brain could comprehend his words. _It hadn't even occurred to her to run_. The thought hadn't crossed her mind in months, probably over a year. _Curl into a ball; throw a blanket over her head? Yea…But not run._ Running had stopped being an option awhile ago. There was nowhere she could run to escape him.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said softly.

"Good to know," he nodded.

"Things have got to change," her voice flat.

He gruffly nodded and it took him a few seconds to find his voice, "I figured that."

"I'm not strong Logan," she said still focused on his eyes.

He waited for her to explain.

The world saw her one way, the people of Seattle, the citizens of TC, but it wasn't true. "I can't go through this again," her words paused for a moment and her eyes briefly closed before reconnecting with his, "I can't ever lose you. If you…" her words trailed off and she realized she couldn't say it aloud, she couldn't give it that power.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere Max," his thumb gently moved up her cheek sending along the weird sensations of latex meeting skin she had become so used to.

She nodded again, "You should go back to bed."

"With that serenade going on?" he asked.

Another confused look passed her face.

"It's like a lullaby with trumpets," he smiled referring to Alec's snores which he was pretty sure were caused by the odd position his head was in since he'd never heard them before and Joshua's full blown 'rattle the windows' snore he could hear two doors down.

A small smile.

"Not to mention my bed's pretty damp and I'm starving. How do you feel about breakfast? I think I've got some eggs."

She hesitated.

"Come on," he said standing a little slower than she was used to, "sun'll be up soon anyway."

She nodded and followed him out of the room.

* * *

Yea I was going to do the whole last chapter and this chapter in one shot, but as I was writing 67 I decided a two parter would work better. I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers either; I have absolutely no patience for that stuff. Oh and can we please stop accusing me of turning MA people…I think I have proven my devotion for Logan by this point. Neither Max nor Alec would ever do that to Logan.

Oh and I so love the word 'holiday,' why don't Americans use that term? Vacation sounds so crude next to holiday. Yea yea I know, most things American sound crude when compared to British.


	69. Due

**AN:**

Hey guys first off I just wanna say thanks for still reading…Yea I had another one of those moments when I realized just how long this story is (Had to open a third word document since once they get past a hundred they get rather annoying). I swear the end of the story is in sight. I hope you're still enjoying it and the length didn't drive too many of you away.

Now to anyone who's reviewing at the end of this (which you know I love) can you throw in an E or an R, for Embedded or Remnants as the next story to be updated and please dear god don't tie again or just review more for this story, that's totally acceptable. Just don't make me think. If I'm not in the mood to write I just flip flop back and forth unless I have a clear direction. Thanks in advance!

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Nine **

_Due _

* * *

Freak Nation Independence Day (Rooftop): 

The noises below him had lessened from the previous year as had the crowd. Those who were still in the city had shown up, but more had scattered about the country searching out a freedom that came much easier elsewhere. He didn't blame them; there was still a strong anti-transgenic population in Seattle. They might think the same way elsewhere in the country, but they weren't constantly on the lookout for transgenics. Anything slightly off here put you at risk for being labeled a transgenic and they were all too well aware of the consequences that entailed.

It was hard to believe two full years had passed. Dos, due, dois, deux, twee, zwei, ni, he'd heard it all today in every different language, **two**. Drei, tres, tre, drie, tatu, tiga, **three**. Anni, años, années, **years**. _Two full years, 2nd anniversary, entering the third year._ They'd celebrated it in everyway they could and that had included boasting it in several different languages. Logan had definitely learned transgenics could be showoffs, especially when it came to one upping each other.

He didn't need anymore words to say it though.

Those three were more than enough.

**Two full years**…Well two full years minus 27 hours and however many minutes they'd gotten in at his apartment and house, a split second at Crash.

Odd how something could seem so long and short at the same time.

He took a deep breath and felt his son slightly stir against his chest at the movement, he stood up from the lawn chair he'd been reclining on, escaping the activities downstairs for a bit. He wouldn't let his mind dwell, he refused to.

He almost scoffed at the memory of Zen catching him in pity-mode right after the last time.

_"Don't worry man; you and Max are due for a miracle." He'd said as _ _Logan__ had started touting the facts: the timeline, the adaptive nature of the virus…There was a long list of things against them. _

_Logan__ had let out a biting laugh at that point and hadn't even bothered to respond. Exactly how many miracles did a guy get? Max entering his life at the exact right time? Max coming back from the dead? Being paralyzed and getting full use of your legs back? Finding a son in the most unlikely of times? Hell wasn't falling in love and having that person love you back one of the biggest miracles? Yea, he was pretty sure his run was over. He'd gotten more than his fair share in this life; he'd been given a lot more than was taken away. _

He rubbed his son's back to release some of the excess energy that came with being entirely frustrated with the situation at hand.

Diving back into the 'real' world. Going back to work for the first time in six years. Alec had been the one to finally talk him into it as Logan had tried to point out, not for the first time that who would watch Cale since Max was so adamant about him not starting school yet.

_"Okay _ _Logan__, I think you and Max are missing part of the big picture. You keep fighting about school, but exactly how do you think he's," he nodded his head down to Cale playing on the floor with Max, "gonna react to suddenly not being with you or Max all day? Can't just throw a kid into that situation." Alec said once more displaying an impressive amount of knowledge for someone whose only time with a child was the one he was talking about. _

_"What are you talking about he gets along great with other kids," Max said thinking of her son's interactions at the park. _

_"Oh you mean the park were you or _ _Logan__ are at the furthest two feet away?" _

_"He can play on his own now Alec," _ _Logan__ said defending their parenting. There were certain pieces of equipment they might stay close by when he was on, but they certainly didn't hover like they once had. _

_"The point is you and Max are always there," he shook his head. _

_Logan shook his head in return, "You, yourself have watched him, Original Cindy's watched him, Joshua's watched him, Zen, Vida, hell even Normal watched him." _

_"Oh I'm sorry, but when was the last time any of us watched him? Awake I mean. Josh watching him at night when you two have put him to bed doesn't count; he doesn't even know you're gone." _

_They both stayed silent for a moment. Max began to open her mouth, Alec cut her off. _

_"A quick errand doesn't count or informants that only last an hour; he has to notice you're gone. It also doesn't count when you're in the building. Kid needs to know you're actually gone." _

_The realization that Alec might actually be right started to dawn on them. _

_"Yea so like I was saying maybe you should try a step below preschool before you scar the kid for life." _

_"I hate it when he's right," Max said looking slightly sick as Alec left the room. _

_"You're not alone," _ _Logan__ replied with a shake of his head. _

So it had been decided Cale would start spending part of his days with Josh, since Josh was the only person they had to watch him unless they went with daycare. It was a good compromise, a good start to fully socializing their son. He knew Josh and was comfortable with him and would get used to being surrounded by other people.

Things had been fine that first day, Logan had left him with Josh for three hours as he'd run errands. He'd left him with Josh before during the day as he'd go to meet informants and they'd left him alone with him as they'd been doing things around TC, the timeframe wasn't much longer than he was used to and things had gone well.

The second day had been six hours. Around the fourth as Cale woke up from his nap and realized neither parent was around he wanted to go searching for them. Logan had been greeted with a very frazzled and desperate looking Joshua and a suddenly incredibly clingy Cale. Alec had been a serious bitch to deal with for the rest of the week.

Without any further excuse to avoid going back to work, Logan had called and made an appointment to meet with Tom and pulled out one of the few suits that had managed to survive White's attack on his apartment.

_"_ _Logan__?" a head turned and stopped walking past as he emerged from the elevator. _

_"Gabby," he smiled at the confused/shocked hazel eyes and took in Gabriella Greer for the first time since he'd not so politely gotten her out of his room at the rehab. She was pretty, that had always been the word he'd thought of when seeing her, not striking, not cute, just pretty, but that didn't mean average. Her overall look hadn't changed much since the last time he'd seen her, her light brown hair had a few new blonde highlights he didn't recall, but it was still up in the same clip it always went into when she was busy on the phone and computer. Slacks, blouse, the same uniform as always, unless she was interviewing someone she thought she could get some more information out of by showing a little more skin. _

_She was one of a crowd he used to socialize with after work, on the weekends. He'd preferred the people at work to those he'd grown up with, he'd realized somewhere in his marriage to Valerie that he really didn't like those people, he didn't understand them. _

_"You're really here?" Her surprised grin was his greeting and she quickly moved towards him for a hug. _

_He felt himself warm and grow more comfortable with the idea of working again. It felt nice to be missed. _

_She separated herself from him, "You're coming back to work?" It was only a half question; Tom's secretary had informed them all _ _Logan__ had made an appointment. In the past, before his shooting he'd occasionally just stop by, talk to people, and find new connections for whatever work he was doing. He'd never made an appointment. _

_"If Tom'll have me," he nodded. _

_"Same old Logan Cale?" she asked with her eyes twinkling, Logan Cale of the past had disrupted many of the lives of their 'well to do' citizens, exposed a lot of injustice, had fought for change, of course those were all the reasons why he'd stopped being their Logan Cale, people like that didn't exist for very long in this business. _

_"I think I might take a slightly safer route this time," he said seriously, "not looking to have a price on my head again." _

_She nodded, "Smart move." That reminded her to take a moment to unobtrusively view his vertical frame. Tom had told her, but she hadn't believed it. You didn't just get over things like being paralyzed. And he had been paralyzed right? _

_He'd been trained to observe the little changes just like she had, "Bullet fragment," he said, it was the story he'd decided upon, since the truth was out of the question even to un-prejudiced people like Gabby. "They removed it and I started getting feeling back." The story worked, he'd been in the hospital, had a bullet fragment removed and just over six months later he was up and walking again thanks to the exo, not many had seem him in the chair after that and that could just be blamed on a bad day. His family knew about the exo, but would understand the lie since they assumed he'd bought his way out of paralysis. _

_"Jesus, Logan do you have any idea how lucky you are?" She said with a shake of her head before moving in for another hug. _

_"I've got some clue," he nodded as she separated again. _

_"So what's this I hear about you having a little boy? And rumor has it he's Junior Junior," she ended with a smirk. She'd seen him flinch when his uncle would come by and call him that. _

_"Yea," he shook his head at the name, "I want you to know I was firmly opposed to that. We call him Cale; he's two and a half." _

_"Two and a half?" she repeated. _

_Lies were trickier with people you'd known for awhile. He looked slightly guilty as he continued on, "Things were a little crazy the last time I saw you." _

_She almost rolled her eyes, "Maybe if you'd actually stopped to talk to me instead of pretending like everything was fine as you tried to figure out ways to kick me out of the room…" _

_Another required guilty look. _

_"Do I know his mom?" she asked. The last time she'd gone out with Logan had to have been a good six or seven months before his accident and he'd been with a blonde school teacher, Terry, her reporter's mind recalled. _

_"Uh probably not," god he hated lying and having to pretend to actually think about that. He felt like he was diminishing Max by doing that. _

_A quick look down at his hands, "You didn't marry her?" Huh, that was an interesting fact; she could have sworn he'd have done the right thing, even if it meant punishing himself for the rest of his life. He'd certainly stuck it out longer with Valerie than anyone else would have. _

_"There were a lot of things going on at the time. You'll meet her, you'll like her." _

_"So you're still together?" Another interesting turn. _

_"We're still friends, responsible parenting." _

_"Uh huh," she slowly drawled, viewing his face thinking about his actions and words. _

_"I should probably go meet Tom," he remembered his appointment, thankful to have the escape. _

_She nodded, "Yea and I should probably get this down to the copy-editor," she raised the folder she'd been holding this whole time. _

So starting two days from now he was going back to work part-time. _ Hmm that had been embarrassing_, but he was willing to suffer through the embarrassment of fearing he was turning into his mother to spend more time with his son.

"Hey," Max called out softly opening the door knowing their son was with his father and it was past his bedtime.

He turned and smiled.

Her face softened as it always did seeing the blonde tyke who had fallen asleep clutching at his father's neck and hadn't let go. "It get too loud down there?"

"Just a bit, we left when Alec started doing keg stands."

Max laughed, "And here I thought he was actually maturing."

"Alec?" he raised an eyebrow.

Another laugh that caused Cale to squirm slightly against his father. "Definitely past his bedtime," she walked over and placed a hand on her son's back.

"Yea, I just wanted to stay so you could say goodnight," he said referring to the fact that she had run out to find more ketchup for the 'burgers' Mole had been flipping all night sick of the whining she had been listening to as others lamented the fact that they couldn't go out.

She smiled up her thanks to him and shifted her position to take the child Logan was disengaging from himself.

He smiled as she cradled Cale close to her, their son awaking and giving her the briefest of looks before falling back asleep. "And mothering doesn't come easy to an X-5," he said reminding her of her words when he'd returned with Cale.

She looked up from Cale's cherubic face and smiled, "Gotta admit, pretty surprised we only lost one. Guess these things are really part nature and not all nurture."

The one she was referring to wasn't a child, but a mother. In total, they had had sixteen 'breeding partner' births that didn't include that first wave of people who had gotten pregnant on their first 'heat' experience. The lost mother had been Leila, the same as the 13 other out of the 15 mothers (one and thankfully only one had twins); she was too young, too inexperienced and in short just not ready to be a mom. She'd lasted for almost three weeks before finally just disappearing one day, a note placed underneath the baby saying, 'I'm sorry' so no one worried and went looking for her. Ren and Hudson, the only two to go against what was the norm had taken her son, Jordan to be raised with their own son, Caden. The only couple out of the breeding partners to be in it together as far as anyone knew. There hadn't really been any other option, another transgenic could have taken in the baby, but formula was a pricey commodity and incredibly difficult to find and making another one of the mother's into a wet nurse seemed unlikely.

"Guess so," Logan said with a hand up to stroke him son's soft hair, though he couldn't feel the texture through the gloves he'd never bother to take off, mostly because Max was still flipping out any sight of bare skin.

She looked up at him as she held Cale close savoring his weight and warmth knowing she'd miss it until it was back in her arms. She didn't mind being wrong, she'd found that happened quite a bit as she finished growing up. Things seemed to turn out better than she expected and she certainly wasn't one to complain.


	70. Worlds Collide – Part One

* * *

**Chapter Seventy **

_Worlds Collide – Part One _

* * *

"Golfing?" Max repeated the word he'd just said. 

"Yea, the weather's still good." He said not even paying attention to how she was saying it, more interested in the work they'd been going over as they'd started to discuss their plans for the weekend.

"You golf?" her tone incredulous as she looked down at him seated behind the desk.

He turned for that, tilted his head up to look at her, "Why is that so hard to believe?" That had been the same tone she'd used over the whole club thing, he could still hear her ask, _'You went to a club?_' Okay well he'd understood the club thing, but golf? Max had definitely accused him of being a snob on more than a few occasions, golf went with that title.

"You like to golf?"

Oh there it was, Max's own opinion about golf. "It's not my favorite thing to do in the world, but it grows on you." Not like he'd had a choice growing up the son and then nephew of a CEO.

She frowned, _golf was so sedentary_. Then she pouted wondering why exactly she would find it shocking that Logan would like something like that, a game based on control and focus. There was a stillness in her mind, a peace that she always equated with Logan. Sitting behind a computer or simply talking to her. He was the calm in the middle of the storm, always had been, insanity would be raging about and he would simply be there watching with a smile on his lips, be it at Crash or at home with their son. He was rarely excessive be it in talking or moving.

Funny though how she'd forgotten that for a moment, she'd gotten so use to the action oriented Logan. Gunshots, car maneuvers, fights though those did seem to be things of the past. But not the simple passing time shooting hoops that would turn into a full out one on one game that he couldn't be dragged away from, the tossing of a football that would evolve into a full blown war between opposing sides. That wasn't who he was though at the end of the day, end of the day he was her rock.

"Seems kinda boring," she said scrunching up her nose, boring there was something she didn't equate with Logan. _ Had to wait for everyone to have their turn, then you had to travel to the ball and repeat, definitely didn't seem too exciting._

"It's not that bad, I'm gonna get my ass kicked though," his face held a slight grimace at the thought.

"When was the last time you played?"

"Almost five years ago," he made a pained face.

"Guessing Bennett plays a little more regularly than you?"

"Just slightly."

-o-o-o-

Bennett prepared himself for the worst as he pulled up behind Logan in front of his house. Not that the neighborhood was horrifically bad, in fact it seemed more deserted than anything else. That was also the feeling he got as he looked up at the house, sure the lawn might be properly tended to as were the few bushes, but the house was in serious need of a face lift as were all the other houses he could see. _He'd wanted to know_, he reminded himself as he opened his car door suddenly seriously worried about leaving his car unattended on the street.

"You sure you're okay for money?" he asked in a low voice as he approached his cousin retrieving his clubs from the back of his car.

Logan simply chuckled, "Trust me I'm more than fine." He wasn't lying, he hadn't been unprepared for the demise of Cale Industries; he never banked on it to always support him.

_Yea like he was going to believe that one,_ from Foggle Towers to something that looked like it belonged in Nightmare on Elm Street. Yet his cousin moved with a relaxed ease up the stairs, his bag draped over his shoulder, pausing to retrieve a stray ball from the yard and carry it up with him.

He braced himself as Logan unlocked the door, but as the door opened and he followed his cousin in, he barely even noticed the other man dropping the ball down to a table and leaning his clubs up against a wall. It was as if he'd been transported to a different part of town, he almost even looked back outside the other door to make sure the street was still there. The inside of the house was on par with Logan's old penthouse. Gleaming floors, brightly polished wood of the staircase, freshly painted walls, the crisp molding revealing the house's age at the same time it looked brand new.

Logan laughed seeing his reaction quite similar to Max's original one. Even more had been done to the house since then, he'd outfitted the place with some new pieces of furniture, solid simple pieces more suited to his taste than the bits and pieces Sandeman had left behind.

"You want a drink?"

"Scotch?"

Another chuckle from Logan, "Why don't you wait in the living room," he nodded his head in its direction.

Bennett absently took his cousin's advice and found himself in the other room at first all he was confronted with was the overwhelming signs of a child's presence, so very different than his cousin's old place. Toy box in the corner with toys sitting to the side of it too, a halfway completed building with Lincoln Logs on the floor by it. A child sized wooden table and chairs, tucked underneath the windows. A small stuffed cat tucked in with a small dark blue blanket on the couch.

Once the shock of being confronted with so much proof of his youngest cousin's existence did he allow himself to see anything else. The small pieces of art or just things of interest his cousin always had, tucked high out of reach of a child. The art hanging on the walls…

It looked familiar; it held that sense of old and new like that showing Marianne had taken him to a few months ago. Sure enough upon closer inspection he saw the scribble of 'Joshua' in the corner. Maybe his cousin really wasn't hurting for money because he'd talked Marianne out of investing in an unknown since they'd just finished redoing the house. If Logan bought it though maybe he should look into it, his cousin had always had a good sense when it came to things like that.

He was struck again by that sense of old and new, that sense of familiarity as he stood puzzled in the living room, just staring down at the brown leather sofa and matching chairs once he'd been left at only the basics to look at.

"They're from my old apartment," Logan supplied walking into the room with two short glasses of Scotch in his hands.

"Yea," Bennett answered still looking confused, "I thought they were, but didn't you get different ones?" Not that he had been in his cousin's apartment more than a handful of times after the shooting, he'd caught on real quick his presence was no longer appreciated. So he'd given his cousin space, never imagining it would grow so vast so quick.

Logan nodded, "Most of the things in my apartment were destroyed." That certainly wasn't a lie, sofas slashed as was his bed; he didn't know how the guest bed wasn't taken out in the process. Everything glass shattered, the paper shades of lamps shredded. The pictures he'd instructed the cleaning crew to take showed a destruction he hadn't imagined, though it still looked better than the hospital room he'd been in only seconds before it was firebombed. "This stuff had been in the basement in storage," he nodded.

He thanked god they hadn't realized that or hadn't had the time to access it, it'd saved a living room set, dining room, a proper desk he hadn't used in years, but was now what he primarily used though it tended to be cramped and he normally ended up spreading everything out in the dining room. Not to mention things like his dresser which had to be removed since he hadn't been able to reach half of the drawers and most of his workout equipment which he couldn't use after the shooting and the elliptical from those few brief weeks all those years ago in which he'd first gotten his legs back. He could still remember the pain of looking up into his closet after his legs had stopped seeing everything that was once more out of his reach. He remembered Bling having to lower the bars again…_Might have been foolish and unimportant, but it had still hurt. _

Bennett nodded, "Goes better with the house."

Logan gave his cousin a look.

"Hey, I just had to help decorate an entire house," he said explaining his preference for the solid leather furniture in the cream walled, wooden floored room. Then again he had a vague feeling that had been Logan's old living room too; frankly all he ever seemed to remember of Logan's old place were the red walls.

"Marianne trusted you with that?" Logan chuckled moving to take a seat.

"Eh I was more her sounding board. Found out apparently I did nothing right in my old apartment." He answered dryly moving over to where he saw a group of pictures, the last picture he remembered being in Logan's apartment had been in his old apartment when he'd been married, those normal couple shots every woman put out. These seemed to have that feel though too, the pictures held within the wooden frames all seemed to have that cozy domestic feel to them.

The normal family shot in the middle, Logan and Max side by side, his arm draped over her as they were squeezed in tight together, Cale in the middle of them, but more on Max's lap secured by her arm as she leaned in. He was pretty sure it was the cabin and looked like Donna had been right about how she'd described them.

There was another of a much smaller Cale right next to it as he was in Logan's arms wearing one of those footed pajama things on an unknown couch. One of Logan seemingly asleep on the grass with Cale on top of him. The next one was from the same day he realized seeing Cale's outfit, "This is the day I ran into you two?" he asked raising up the picture of Max with the short blonde hair ducked behind Cale on a swing holding the chains so their faces were almost next to each other.

"Uh," Logan said looking over, "Yea," he nodded as he went to sort through the mail that had been waiting on his coffee table all weekend.

Bennett continued to look over the pictures, the basic holiday picture of Cale in front of a package, then one of Logan and Cale wearing matching antlers and judging by his cousin's expression in it, he hadn't been the one to put up that photo.

Then blonde Max, though with longer hair than when he'd seen them with a small yellow hard hat being hit in the head with a hammer by a construction worker Cale.

Another one with all three of them, Cale's birthday as he sat on Max's lap, her hands covering his as Logan and the unexpected guest from his wedding blew out the candles.

He raised the picture back up and turned.

Logan chuckled, "Apparently he's not afraid of fire and kept trying to grab the candles."

He pointed at the female, "Why was she at my wedding?" he asked as he'd always meant to.

Another laugh from Logan, "She came to tell Max something and Daphne took a _liking_ to her."

He raised up the picture, "Really?" He asked realizing what Logan meant by 'liking.'

He nodded.

"Hmm, shame my dad never installed those cameras like he meant to."

Logan laughed as he went through a bill.

Bennett raised up the picture in the middle again and studied it, the only one out of the group that had Max the way he was used to seeing her, not that she wasn't hot as a blonde though. She'd looked younger in the other pictures, she'd almost reminded him of a little pixie the day he'd run into them. _This picture though…_he knew the bible said, 'you shall not covet your neighbor's wife,' he wondered what it said about your cousin's ex girlfriend, though he was pretty sure he already knew what his wife would say about it.

He was about to ask his cousin about her again, but decided against it since he hadn't managed to get anything much out of him in over a year of asking.

"So Marianne took me to this guy's showing back in May," he said walking over to one of the pictures.

Logan looked up, "Really?"

"Yea, there were a few pieces Mar wanted. Prices were kind of inflated for someone who hasn't even been on the scene for two years."

"He's in demand," Logan replied knowing Rita had quickly sold all of his pieces. Not that he had bought any of the artwork he now had hanging in his house. Two had been forced upon him after he'd casually commented that he liked them. The next came with his birthday, one had followed at Thanksgiving since Logan had brought wine when Joshua had first cooked, then another on Christmas, he tried explaining after the first time he'd cooked that Josh didn't need to bring a gift, but another painting had shown up when he invited Josh over in March.

_'You're the only one who has wall space," he'd said gruffly and handed off the painting. _

Wall space and he hadn't sold any of them like Alec.

"Just shows I should leave decisions like this to Marianne," he said stopping to look at the painting again.

Logan laughed; his cousin had definitely been his father's son in more than one way.

-o-o-o-

His head suddenly turned and he frowned hearing noises out on his porch, wondering who was out there. The door opened and he heard her voice first, "Lo-"

It was cut off by his son's desperate cry of "Daddy?"

"In here," he said standing.

The door shut loudly as frantic footsteps came towards him and within moments his son was scooped into his arms followed by a rather pissed off looking Max.

"Hey, what-" he began.

He was cut off by the door opening again and "Hey nice holding the door for me Maxie," Alec's voice called out.

_That explained the slam that had preceded her walking into the room_.

The annoyed look grew and she glared at Alec walking into the room and moved around the coffee table to pick up Cat who Cale had tucked in this morning before breakfast telling his father the stuffed creature was still tired.

"Ooh," Logan said making a pained face, realizing what he'd done and helped explain why she was looking ready to kill him too.

"Cat," Cale's arms went straight for the cat, his mother passed it along with a resigned look.

"Sorry," Logan apologized.

She just continued to look none too pleased.

"Hey I'm Alec," Alec finally said introducing himself stepping towards Logan's cousin with an extended hand, "you must be Bennett, nice car," he ended with a nod in regards to the car he'd stopped to admire.

"Thanks," he said accepting the hand. "Hi Max," he nodded in her direction.

"Hi Bennett," she smiled though not particularly convincingly.

"Ha see told ya Maxie, the runt tired himself out," Alec smiled nodding in Cale's direction where he was halfway slumbering on his father's shoulder clutching the black cat. "I'll put him down," he said moving to take Cale out of Logan's arms after Max shot him another look.

Once he heard Alec hit the stairs he turned and asked rather hesitantly, "Rough day?"

He was rewarded with another glare.

Bennett held in his chuckle.

"Oh let's see no one was around so Alec decided to show up on my doorstep at 10 am gets Cale running around the apartment. Then he tags along as I'm trying to run errands, I leave them alone for ten minutes. I come back to Cale washing down his pixie stix with soda."

Logan made a pained face.

"Yea," she nodded, "so then he's coming off a sugar high and sleep deprived and he's missing Cat." The memory of her son's temper tantrum that had resulted from her trying to convince him to nap without the cat that had led to her finally being frustrated enough to decide to go and retrieve the cat. Of course Alec hadn't wanted to stay with Cale instead he'd acted like a two year old and wanted to go with her. Then Cale had fallen asleep on the drive over and Max had decided to just run in and grab it anyway instead of risk waking up her son carrying him inside and not having the cat. Of course Alec had said Logan's name seeing his car and Cale had instantly perked up, instantly babbling on about his father and had started screaming again when Max had said they weren't seeing him, demanding at full whine that he wanted his father. "Course you know he's almost asleep in the car and Alec wakes him up," she said with a strained face amazed she hadn't killed anyone yet today.

"Sounds like you could use this more than me," he said referring to the glass he'd picked up during her angry rant.

She just shook her head and gave him an exhausted look, frustrated with everyone and thing including him.

"Sorry?" He apologized again.

"Alec's yours for the rest of the day," she said with a shake of her head.

"Where's the love Maxie?" Alec asked walking into the room.

"Love died when you got my kid high."

"It was a single pixie stick Logan," Alec defended himself, "you guys eat yet?" he asked Bennett.

"We ate at the club," Bennett answered wondering who this other guy was and why he was dragging him into the middle of this.

"He weighs 22 pounds Alec, one pixie stick is a lot," she fumed. "And you were sneaking him cookies at the apartment, he leaves crumbs," she explained her discovery once they'd gotten back to the house.

Alec just looked guilty and diverted his eyes away from Max's glare, "So guys, how was your game?"

* * *

**Side notes because I'm anal and want to explain everything in case anyone was wondering: **

The house is still grubby on the outside so as to not attract anymore attention to it.

Max and Logan do normally wear gloves when in private, obviously she took them off when seeing Bennett's car and she would have removed them in order to take a proper picture, so that's why I didn't have Bennett wonder about her wearing gloves because she wasn't.

**Thanks for reading guys! **

**Babyangel: **Actually there was a mention of a barbeque in what I considered for the final chapter of 'Outside the Box,' but then I wouldn't have Max and baby Will as my final scene. Hmm…actually I could have…Okay well the point was I didn't. Hmm I'll get back to you on that one.

**Idlehands:** I didn't end Outside of the Box because I'm burnt out, I swear. I ended it because that was the image I had in my head for the final scene, I know the final scene I want for all of my stories.

**X-318: **This is so out of order, I'm sorry.

Buffy comment: 

Oh my god do you just mean Buffy's mom's death (I for the life of me don't remember a funeral; remember Angel and Buffy in the cemetery, but no funeral). That was one of the most traumatic television moments; it felt like I'd been sucker punched, I just remember sobbing hysterically watching it. One of my guy friends (the only one who watched the show) even has that down as one of his most powerful tv moments. Okay I just had to go back to your review and try to remember why you mentioned that because now for the second time I've gotten so distracted remembering that. I can't remember a stillness for the life of me once more probably because I was hysterical throughout, flowers, breaking rib, vomit, everyone really angry/not knowing how to react, then Angel, that's it, like I said I was very emotional during it, it was the worst fear of their target audience, it was just cruel of them to make us think of that.

Hmm okay now that my major Buffy moment is over that was actually a great thing to draw upon while reading this because that complete 'no this isn't happening moment' is what I wanted. A totally normal moment, she's walking in teasing about the flowers and well boom, life altering, unexpected, completely this cannot and should not be happening moment.

Max was in a completely normal moment, she was just going to bs about something completely unimportant when it happened. This is also the moment to say it was a reference to the crow from Season One's finale, but that crow only had power because of the previous crow from Max's childhood, but it was primarily about the night Max died. This chapter was my reaction to how everyone flipped out over the NCIS finale, they wanted confessions, final moments, but that's not how things happen. You don't get a crow warning you that the end is near, you get a phone call after you've had a fight or a bad thought about the person or even when nothing at all is going on.

Various Languages: 

I don't know why I did that exactly (though I'm sure I knew much more when I wrote this than now, bad memory). I just had the vision of Logan up on the rooftop with a million different ways to say two. Then I realized I had the whopping total of 3 in my mind, so I doubted he'd know a dozen, he's smart, but not that smart. The transgenics however…a whole bunch of ultra smart people, who are thought of as second class citizens, them boasting that way would be part extra boast and part unintentional, they're just smarter and more educated than the rest of the country. It worked out well (I think) providing the same theme as last year, everyone else is so excited and happy and Max and Logan can't be as happy. That anniversary is also the anniversary of finding out there was a virus that would keep them apart, major high and low all within a day. Also worked out well for a title, got more than one meaning…always nice.

The Bikini and pool: 

Haha the bikini wasn't meant to torture Logan, it was just Max's bikini, hell she could be in a tarp though and drive Logan insane.

Everyone else has lives, I swear. I always have friendships were there is no clear boundary so I think I bring that to the story. Not to mention, Alec is an up in your business kind of guy anyway. Marianne and Bennett are more of the family, there are just things you're supposed to know and they don't and you know you so talk shit in your family about the other family members and everyone's always speculating, trying to piece everything together, not to mention Bennett's disappointed in Logan. In his mind Logan was 30, Max was 18, he got her pregnant, got himself shot (he chose his lifestyle, Bennett's stable, so it's definitely not the type of life he'd approve of a dad to be living) and doesn't marry her, not to mention Bennett only finds out he has a second cousin when the kid's a year and a half…Yea you know you'd be talking shit too :-D

Cut-off tee and kiss: Yea I don't like those shirts either, I just wanted the you're home, you're lazy, it's hot and you don't care at all about what you look like outfit. How passionate are you going to be when you've just infected the love of your life with a deadly virus? She tried, she really did, she was too scared to just forget about the consequences.

Curing the Virus: I am totally against doing anything that anyone else has done. Though I did think that was a great way to cure it, totally cried when I read it. I stop and try to change common things when I realize someone else has done or said it. I almost scrapped an entire story that I had already completed after reading another one which had like a single (very common) line in common since they were both already accidental sex stories. So sorry, trust me I would have loved for the virus to go poof too, but way to major an event to do something I've already read.

M/A: Yea whenever there is an M/A scene someone always asks if it's turning into that, so trust me it wasn't only at you. Read previous ANs and you'll see others, I swear. No one trusts me.

My other stories: Be glad you don't watch the shows because I very rarely update them and I know I drive the readers insane.

So did I mention your reviews totally make me like the story more? Is that like really odd? I mean your reviews always make me so happy (honestly I am so giddy at the moment); you always seem to say the exact right thing. Like how you were worried that it was just a dream, I totally thought I failed at that because no one said anything. You did that throughout and I love you sooooooo much for it! So in short never worry about not always getting the chance to review because when you do they're sooo above and beyond amazing.


	71. Halfway

**Idlehands:** Duh that was a long author's note, that's why you were only supposed to read your nice little line. I break it down so you all don't kill me; you ignored the rules so I'm not responsible for the length :-D And haha think you're getting spoilers out of me for the story? I don't think so. What I said was I wish I could have had them be cured, but I would never use an uncommon plot twist that belongs to another. Teachers did too good a job on me regarding plagiarism (heaven forbid they could have used all that energy on something like punctuation or something I'd use in everyday life), sucks for the story though doesn't it:-D. Ooh and I'm doing such a good harassing people into working on/posting their stories, I'm going to have so much good DA reading material.

**M/L Only:** Awww I'm so glad you gave my story a chance, even more glad you seemed to be liking it at least up until chapter 40, so hopefully you get up to this chapter to read this.

**Kelly Kay:** Okay first things first, reading 70 chapters may be tough, but imagine my poor fingers and wrists, not to mention laptops can overheat which leads to pads of fingers burning :-D Of course I can't even read this story all the way through anymore, I go all cross eyed, so I hope to god you took breaks :-D Thanks so much for reading and giving it a chance, even more thank you for liking it! Okay and now another comment regarding the length (which I personally find really annoying since the story was supposed to be over in 45 chapters, but decided to take on a life of its own and refused to allow me to corral it back in) at least you knew that with all the things about the different types of bad angst that no matter what this was not a case of rushed anything. Yea okay even my replies are long, I'm sorry :-D Thanks for reading! Oh and that whole M/A thing…Yea I can't even figure out how we all watched the same show. There has to be a DA M/A version out there in which Logan is a psycho, that's the only way to explain it.

**KK:** Hmm if you're Kelly Kay, sorry about having to see two separate ones. Yea not surprising you'd think that this story goes well with that song because that cd is one of like only 3 that I'll listen to while writing. Yea I totally like adore that cd, like I'm not even kidding, I think I listened to it for a full 3 months without ever changing (Honestly only a slight over exaggeration) and I still listen to it at least a couple times a week now. In fact I'm listening to it right now because you got it stuck in my head.

**AN: Ahhh, finally this chapter is done. Totally not the right chapter though. I swear I tried writing about a dozen different parts for this chapter in the past two weeks trying to do the chapter I had in my head. Totally did not work, that chapter was so scrapped. So aggravating, so so so aggravating. Sorry about the wait folks. Hope it's halfway decent. **

**Side note: Crap, this story is entirely too long. I really think I somewhere in the story I wrote a description for Vida, but of course I cannot find it. I remember thinking redhead to remind Max of Valerie, but I can't remember if I used that because I decided I didn't want to make her into an interest for Logan and I can't picture a redhead going with the surfer look I created in Zen. But the redhead would make sense since I didn't give Cassia (which means cinnamon) red hair. This is what I get for naming a character after a supermodel's dog. That all being said, since I can't find a description for her, I now can't return back to my original redheaded thought since I keep thinking Brazilian. If anyone remembers that I did give her a description please yell at me and I'll fix the chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-One **

_Halfway_

* * *

It had been almost two months since that fateful day. 

Two months since their relationship took a dramatic turn. A turn that she had demanded and had implemented by turning down dinners and outings until he stopped offering them so frequently.

She missed him; she missed their old life like crazy. It was funny because she hadn't realized she spent so much time with him. Turned out she had though and now she'd go stir crazy alone in the apartment, her entire body itching to hop on her bike and go join Logan and Cale for yet another night of bad tv watching or something as uneventful as that.

She forced herself out of the apartment now, it hadn't been like the last time, Original Cindy was now the one being dragged places not the other way around. Tuesdays and Thursdays meant Crash and that same old crowd. Saturdays meant OC got to try out every club in the city and more often than not Max went home alone. Last Saturday she had tried to reach into her past and recreate one of those Girls Night Out that she always used to have with Kendra, OC and whoever else they could drag along.

Her old roommate long since gone, having moved on to the greener pastures of California with the guy that had replaced Walter, so she'd invited along Gem and Vida and all three of the girls had insisted she call Asha which Max had begrudgingly done so. Then of course much to her chagrin Vida had invited Cassia, who still had a tendency of flirting with Logan. Making the proportion of the night slightly unnatural since over half of the girls who swung that way had wanted to swing it with Logan. Of course the fact that she had didn't make it any better since the other two still could. All in all it hadn't been a bad night as she drank enough to forget that she really wanted to be curled up next to Logan.

-o-o-o-

Last Saturday: 

They'd started early with Gem coming over before everyone else so OC could primp and prod over her like she did Max, the fair skin around the poor girl's eyes had remained tinged with pink for hours after Cindy's vigorous plucking. Max had been providing comfort in the form of Southern Comfort, which she'd gotten off of Sketch for a new tire for his bike as Gem had started muttering that having Ronnie was easier than going out for the night. The problem with SoCo was absolutely nothing in her apartment aside from the lime juice she'd swiped from Logan's earlier in the day went with it. Gem had turned brighter red than her eyebrows on the first sip and begged Max for water to cut it with.

Max had goaded, OC had laughed and by the time everyone else arrived Gem had lost her farm girl look replaced by punk sophisticate and both of the girls were drunk enough that they didn't even bother to fight Original Cindy on the length of the skirts she'd put them in and OC felt like she was dealing with a young Max as she kept tapping the youngest girl's knees reminding her she wasn't wearing the typical Jam Pony outfit and knees needed to be kept together.

Max's hair had been parted on the side and pinned back on that side. She wore a purple tank that plunged low in the middle and back finished off by a dark gold skirt and heels. She made a few statements about looking like a high class hooker as OC had stacked on some bangles, but had gone straight back to her drink the moment her hand had been returned to her. And that had been the exact reason why Asha's head had shot around to catch Alec's face after Original Cindy had opened the door for them.

He might have wanted to clear his throat catching Max in a skirt for the first time since she'd quit her old job, not to mention the expanse of skin left showing by Gem's equally revealing emerald green outfit. Original Cindy's outfit compared to theirs seemed sedate, brown fitted pants with a crisscross design and a plunging halter. _Exactly where were they all going tonight? _was the question on his mind and he was pretty sure he wasn't as happy about them actually including Asha in something as he had originally been.

"Wasn't that full when Sketch gave it to you?" Alec asked taking in the half empty bottle of SoCo.

"Turns out Gem's a lush," Max said pushing off the back of the couch she'd been leaning against.

Gem snorted and then covered up her mouth at the offending noise that didn't normally come out of her.

"You know maybe I should go with you guys," he put on his most serious face as he looked between Asha and OC, "just to-"

"Don't worry Boo, I got it handled," Original Cindy waved a hand and then pulled Asha in close to her, "your boo is in good hands."

A slew of things went through Alec's mind at that moment, not only of things to say, but images, it took all of his effort to not actually say them aloud, though he did decide to find a right way to mention if Asha ever wanted to hang out with Original Cindy more he wouldn't be against it, he just wanted pictures.

"Who's in good hands?" Vida said coming up behind Alec, pushing her way past him in the doorway and lifting up two bottles of wine in her hands, "look at what I scored from Logan's."

Max let out of pout of displeasure and Alec once more really wished he could be a fly on the wall tonight, "Couldn't have shown up while my sense of taste was still intact could you?" she grabbed one of the bottles from Vida's hand and moved into the kitchen with it.

He was about to comment about her actually opening the bottle, since she'd always just pass it along to Logan, but he got distracted as Cassia followed Vida in smiling, "Hi guys." She was wearing a pair of black low rise pants and a maroon bandeau top, her brown hair highlighted with copper from summer fell straight down her back ending right above her strip of a shirt, _wow _ _Logan__ had missed out on that one, _he thought.

Not that Vida also wasn't also something to look at, but her outfit was more sedate like Asha, who was wearing black pants, a black v-neck tank and had her hair straight pulled into a high ponytail. Vida was wearing fitted brown suede pants and a white tank, the brown hair with golden highlights left down with soft waves, highlighting just how perfect she was for the laidback Zen.

_Oh to be a fly on the wall tonight… _

"Bye Alec," Max had smiled as she waited for OC to pull down glasses.

"Sure you girls don't need me to give you a ride over there?" He asked.

"Cab's already lined up," Max supplied with glee knowing Alec all too well and what being around 6 scantily dressed girls was doing to him. _Poor guy, _she thought still smiling amazed he'd actually managed to survive being with only one girl for so long.

So shortly after that Alec regrettably left and headed over to Logan's where he found Logan and Zen in an absurdly guy setting lounging on the brown leather sofa, beers in hand watching the Mariners and Rangers game on tv. He walked straight past them and headed into the kitchen for a beer, downing half of it while standing in front of the fridge he grabbed another and headed back out to the living room collapsing into the arm chair. "They're naked," he said as they other two briefly glanced over at him.

"The girls?" Zen asked.

Alec nodded.

"They tend to be when they go out," Logan supplied having seen what Max and Original Cindy deemed club appropriate.

"She was wearing a bra," he said as he brought the beer up to his lips trying to remember his last threesome, _it was so long ago… _

"Who?" Both men on the couch immediately asked and both followed up their question with a look of remorse at worrying aloud.

Alec chuckled, "Cassia," another swig of beer, "gotta say Logan you really dropped the ball on that though."

Logan glared.

Alec smirked and paused with an insightful look, "Then again a day with Maxie," he smiled.

"Shut up and watch the game," Logan said turning his attention back to the screen.

Alec chuckled, "What's the score?"

-o-o-o-

Wednesday: 

Max smiled remembering the night as Cale was perched on her hip being kept away from the elevator buttons that repeatedly proved more tempting than candy. Remembered how Gem found out the hard way that they hadn't been genetically engineered against puking, not all of the X-5s had been gifted with the high tolerance gene that Alec and Cassia had, poor Gem though her tolerance was on par with…Actually she had the lowest tolerance Max had ever seen, she was pretty sure even Dalton could drink more than Gem.

The problem was once the booze had worn off for Max's missing Logan had returned. The problem was as much as she missed him, she didn't regret her decision. She didn't regret deciding to only spend enough time with Logan to make sure Cale ended up with some type of semi-normal life. That and the fact that life without Logan entirely wasn't worth living, which was the entire point of this.

Today though she was craving it.

Craving the normalcy, the intimacy she was used to. She'd woken up feeling it. She'd paced around the apartment waiting for the sun to rise forcing herself to remain in the apartment and not rush over to Logan's and watch Cale as he slept.

She tended to do that. She tended to perch in her window and look back on her son soundly sleeping in every type of comical pose: on his stomach with his butt lifted in the air, on his back limbs flung every which way, his head occasionally burying itself under the pillow, the corner of his cat ending up in his mouth instead of his thumb. He hadn't been there to watch though and she refused to allow herself to go to him.

As she'd been getting ready for work it had gotten the best of her and she'd told Cindy to tell Normal she had developed a case of sudden case of malaria after being bitten by a mosquito the size of Montana. It wasn't as if he'd ever really believed a single illness before and certainly wasn't going to now, didn't mean she didn't deserve the day off.

So she'd gone over to TC and spent an hour or so with Joshua before heading out with Cale, spoiling him rotten with attention as she suddenly felt like a bad mother that she forced him into this weird situation of every other day in a different place. They'd started off with the park, followed that up with hot dogs and soda, proving just how crappy she was feeling by feeding him that. She topped it off with a trip over to the pier overlooking Elliot Bay and the Takanao Aquarium, where Cale had gone crazy being surrounded by the fish swimming over him and kept trying to figure out how to join them.

It had perked her up more than a bit, but it didn't make her miss Logan any less. So she pushed aside feelings of guilt as she'd boarded the bus over to the Seattle Time's Building, telling herself that it wasn't as if she was doing this solely for her benefit. After all keeping Cale happy and well adjusted and not so aware his life was vastly different than the kids he'd soon be entering school with meant keeping his parents in close contact, so he got the steady feel of having two parents and they hadn't had dinner in almost a week. Cale hadn't been with both of his parents together for longer than an hour since then.

So stopping by with their son was completely acceptable, at least that's what her mind had talked her into as she'd debated it all day. Her mind might keep flashing back to the feel of his weight in her arms, seeing his eyes close and not reopen for hours…The problem was her mind also knew that there wasn't much reason for her in the world if she wasn't with him, even if she wasn't 'with him'.

So she pushed aside those lingering thoughts of turning back as the elevator doors opened and lowered Cale to the floor holding onto his hand.

-o-o-o-

He'd been prepared since he first thought of going back to work for it to be weird. He was a different person than the person that had last exited those doors so many years ago. That man had been a loner, more than slightly jaded, maybe it had been his youth that had made him so much more passionate and ignored the risks. Maybe it had just been that he hadn't had anything tying him to the world. He had that now in spades.

He may have worked here once at a time when he appeared to have that in abundance. Living with Valerie he'd been forced to endure an active social life, though she probably would have disagreed with that. There had been parties though, both purely social and for charity that they attended, Sunday brunches with his family in which it had seemed a race to see who could consume more Bloody Marys and Mimosas. It had all served only one purpose, to make him more jaded. Less time was spent out; less time had been spent in the company of his family and his wife.

The man who had left this job had been divorced, almost completely separated from his family and old friends. He worked; he worked and occasionally socialized with others like him, any personal relationships were completely superficial and stopped before he allowed whomever he was involved with to get attached.

Logan could barely remember being that guy. He certainly couldn't remember why he liked it so much. He was more mellow now, things weren't always life or death, he'd allowed in the gray. In short, he was happy now, even though at the time that old Logan had thought the same, he knew he actually was now.

Slipping back into it all though wasn't as hard as he expected it to be. He liked his job, he was good at it and in some ways he never really left it though it was hard to remember not to say 'I'm sure he'll be able to use this.'

Things had been going well for over two weeks, there was only one thing he found difficult about working and that was the separation from Cale. The hours they'd left him with Josh had done well to prepare Cale for the separation, but little for his father. He'd gone from having his son every single weekday and a few nights to two full weekdays and a Saturday, of course most weekends Cale spent in the company of both of his parents. Still though Logan found himself struggling by the end of the workday to not rush over to Max's and casually pretend he was just stopping by for no real reason. In just over two weeks that had only happened once though since he'd throw himself into Eyes Only work the moment he entered his house and exhaust himself to prevent that from happening regularly. Of course it didn't hurt that he tended to call the cell phone he'd given Josh on a rather frequent basis.

Today though that wasn't an option because while he'd gone to call Joshua while heading out to try to interview the principal of a school that had had 11 students rushed to the hospital in alleged 'accidents' in the past month alone he'd been informed Max had picked him up shortly after he'd dropped him off.

So today the transition was harder and he really wondered if he instead of turning into his father as he had always feared he had managed to turn into his mother.

He'd even been called out on it today by Gabby, who had seemed to master Alec's smirking smile within two meetings of him. At least she didn't know the full story and he hadn't been forced to hear how he and Max were using the little boy as an outlet for all of their feelings. The sad part as much as he hated to admit it he knew everyone that had called them out on that was right and he could feel it after her prolonged absence from his daily life at least before they'd see each other while switching Cale's residence, it was guaranteed they wouldn't go twenty four hours without seeing each other, he hadn't seen her since Sunday now and stopping by her apartment with takeout after work was sounding really good.

"Daddy," he heard cried and he was pulled out of his thoughts to hear the galloping footsteps and Max calling out Cale's name ordering him not to run.

He turned in his chair and in a few seconds his son was before him using his legs to scamper up his father even though his father was lifting him up. He managed to get across a "Hey," to the young boy as his son quickly hugged his neck before launching into a jumble of words, slides, swing, dog, fish, the fish got a huge display of his hands and Cale would have fallen back if he wasn't supported by his father's.

Logan looked up at Max decently confused and smiling as Cale started waving his hands over his head and to the side "An' they were there an' they were there…"

"We went to the Aquarium today," she explained laughing at her son who was animatedly trying to describe everything to his father and locations of the fish were interspersed with colors and sizes as his mind actively remembered.

Then out of nowhere Cale paused suddenly and turned to his mother, "Fish," he said outstretching his hands once more being caught by his father as he spotted the gray stuffed sting ray in his mother's hand.

"Easy there Cale," Logan said with a hand on his son's chest as he almost took a header to the floor.

"Someone had a little too much excitement today," Max explained as she handed over the sea creature.

"Daddy an' I petted it," Cale said stroking the furry version of the creature he'd been allowed to touch and had squealed and fell backwards on the first touch.

"You did?" Logan smiled, "How'd it feel?"

"Slimy," Cale's face scrunched up causing both of his parents to laugh again.

"Hey," Gabby said walking over, "I heard the ruckus going on over here," she smiled.

"Hey Gabby meet Max and Cale," he nodded in their directions as he said their names.

"Nice to meet you," she nodded in Max's direction before moving to squat down in front of Logan to greet the young boy, "so you're the legendary Cale?" she smiled, "And what's that?"

"Fish," he said presenting it out to her, "it was slimy."

Max suddenly didn't know whether to feel relieved or not that she hadn't bother to inform her son of the correct name since he'd been too overwhelmed while in the aquarium itself to take in any of the names even though it meant her son seemed perfectly average for his age because she suddenly felt to urge to reinforce her position, her importance to the other woman.

"You got to touch one?" Gabby asked with large eyes.

"Uh huh," he said leaving his mouth open as he nodded.

"Cool," she said.

And with that Max decided she didn't like the other woman and Logan was smiling along with her son's awed look, '_Traitor_,' she thought.

"So we just came by to see if we could talk you into feeding us?" Max said butting in on the happy moment.

Her son turned back to her, proving his loyalty before tilting his head up to his father, "Food!"

"Yea," he said with a quick confused looked as his mind ran through everything making sure nothing was waiting for him that he couldn't take home, "I'm just about done here."

Gabby stood back up, "Ooh lucky, I'm probably gonna be here until the paper goes to print," she pouted.

"Benefits of being part time," Logan grinned.

She sighed and shook her head, "Don't rub it in." She turned, "It was nice meeting you Max," she nodded before turning back to Cale, "You too Cale," she smiled. "See ya Friday," she nodded at Logan.

_Nope, definitely don't like her, _Max thought as Logan returned the goodbye before proceeding to pat their son off of him so he could save his unfinished work to a disk to bring home.

And Max was reminded of the same thing she'd been thinking since going away with Logan, _letting him go was definitely going to be harder this time around. _

* * *

**Okay totally don't remember what a sting ray feels like anymore. That's a sign of being an adult isn't it :-( How sad. Thanks for reading folks. **


	72. Worlds Collide – Part Two

Okay very very uneventful chapter. The next chapter has actual movement in the story. Sorry about the delay (good job in the reminder idlehands) and I hope you don't hate and remember reviews are always oh so lovely.

At the bottom of the story is a little clarification about Cale's abilities, but you don't have to read it unless you want to. And my replies back to you folks.

And on with the story…

* * *

**Chapter Seventy Two**

_Worlds Collide – Part Two_

_

* * *

_

**Alec's Apartment:**

She sat on his couch doing a seemingly good imitation of someone who was entertained by the game show that was on the large tv before them. She even remembered to throw out an answer or groan every once in awhile, but he was well aware Max hadn't just stopped by to hang out.

Max never stopped by to hang out.

He hadn't even realized that until she'd shown up at his door and he started looking around for where he'd kicked off his shoes last night, thankful he'd showered straight after work and hadn't taken advantage of Asha not being around and just bummed on the couch.

Max had laughed though as he went straight to pulling on his sneakers, telling him she'd seen him in socks before. That had been right before finding out that nothing urgent was going on, nothing Eyes Only, nothing going on at TC or with its residents, no transgenics had been wrongly arrested or even rightly arrested.

She'd just shrugged her shoulders and said she was bored so she decided to come by as she moved to the couch.

That's when he'd just turned and stared at her back and realized Max never came looking for him to just hang out. Especially not at his apartment, she might have hung out with him at TC, but never in the outside world. That was when he frowned.

"Where's OC?"

"On a date," she'd answered.

"Logan?"

"Hung out with him yesterday."

"Josh?"

She just looked at him like he was an idiot for that one, wasn't as if Josh could go anywhere.

"I meant why aren't you over there?"

"Alec if you don't want me over, you could have just said so," she'd stood with that, the same attitude in her actions as was in her voice.

"Hey, hey I never said that. You know you're always welcome Max. Just wondering what brings you by."

"Like I said I was bored," she said as she shrugged her shoulders and made her way towards his kitchen, "got anything to drink here?"

"Beer in the fridge, scotch in the cabinet next to it," he said following her. "Grab me one," he said as she opened the fridge.

"So what'd he do?" Alec asked as he popped open the can.

"Hmm?"

"Maxie, playing dumb isn't really you're strong suit."

She glared at him over the top of the can. What had she said to him once? Something about being a bitch to him because he had Ben's face? The truth was he got under her skin just like a sibling, bypassed all the bullshit everyone else dealt. "Is he seeing anyone?" she asked quickly and anxiously.

"Not that I know of," _huh wonder if she does know something I don't._

"Gabby seems nice," a long deep swallow of her beer as she started walking back to the couch.

_Ah,_ "Boyfriend four years Max," he explained bluntly.

"Seems to like Logan," she shrugged.

"Who doesn't?" he muttered. "I've met her boyfriend though Max, he's a pretty good guy."

With one threat eliminated Max found only a minimal sense of peace, "What about at Doyle's? Anyone interesting there?"

Doyle's, one of the many bars by Logan's job. Seven within a short walking distance divided nicely into senior management types, normal white collar workers like Logan and the blue collar, maintenance and whatnot_. Oh yea there were several very interesting women there._ Not that Logan paid any attention to them; he interacted with several besides from Gabby on their two visits there. He'd only really spent time with one though and that had been because of several highly competitive dart games. While she was really hot, she also had a boyfriend, more annoying asshole than nice guy, loaded though which he guessed was the appeal. It didn't matter though Logan never really paid any female much more attention than the occasional look. "Unless you know something I don't," he answered her.

"I sound like a broken record," she said shaking her head and taking another sip.

"You're allowed to be," he replied with more sympathy than he normally gave.

She thought about it for a moment, her eyes focused on the tv screen but not seeing it at all as the beer stayed perched at her lips, "I hate people like me,"

He chuckled.

"Killed my brother, had another one kill himself for me, got myself locked up in Manticore for 3 months and I can't get over a guy."

"Well as every female I've ever met likes to point out Logan isn't just 'some guy'"

She smirked.

He laughed again.

"He used to be an asshole," her face scrunched on one side as she remembered; "they don't know how much work went into the new and improved Logan."

He laughed again as he took another sip and they sat there watching the tv again for a few more minutes. "I still miss her," he finally said.

"Huh?"

"Rachel," he said becoming eerily still for Alec, "I miss her everyday. I don't think I'll ever get over her."

The knife twisted in Max's heart, Manticore might be keeping her physically away from her love, but they had taken his for good, she forgot about that, just like she'd forget about Joshua and Annie, her problem really wasn't so bad when she thought about them. _Still hurt like hell though._

"Maybe you and Logan should take more time."

She chuckled, "How much more time can we take? It's been over two years."

He didn't know what to say to that.

"Has he heard from Zutoni at all?" She wished should could ask Logan things like that, but she couldn't. She couldn't see his expression, hear his tone when he said the word 'no' and she knew they would just make it worse for each other by hurting for the other.

Alec's mind flashed back to several weeks ago…

"_Yea I know," Logan's voice had been steady and normal, but his head was resting on a hand as his elbow resided on his desk, his face hidden from the hallway Alec was in, phone in the other hand, "I just wanted to check in. Yea no I did call the guy you told me about, wasn't his area. Yea," his head nodded as he pushed himself away from the desk, "no I understand. Thanks for trying," his face flinched and a hand tightened just before he hung up the phone. The phone was placed on the desk before Logan leaned back with a sigh, running a hand over his face before it settled on his chin and he moved back forward. _

"_Zutoni," Alec said putting it together from Logan's words and actions._

_Logan turned slightly startled unaware the other man had returned. "Yea," he nodded as he turned his attention back to the project at hand._

"_I'm sorry," Alec said moving into the room._

_Logan nodded and continued working. "I think he's done," he said a few minutes later as Alec was settled on the couch with the tv on._

_Alec looked over wondering if Logan truly meant what he thought he did._

"_It's over," a quick release of air as he bent down to grab a file he'd tucked into a drawer as if this hadn't just ripped out his heart._

"_I'm sorry," Alec found himself saying in a low voice._

_Logan just nodded as he looked down at the open file, waiting a moment before speaking, "Me too."_

"And you say I suck at playing dumb," her voice was flat seeing Alec's expression.

"I'm sorry Max," he repeated his condolences to her.

The bottle rose up to her lips again and the final half of the beer she'd been sipping frequently slid down her throat without her pausing for air, "I need another beer," she said standing.

-o-o-o-

**Logan's Job, the next morning:**

Gabby walked up smirking.

"What?" Logan asked wondering what had happened that had left him out of the loop.

"So that was the ex?" she said referring to Max's visit two days ago.

"That was Max," he confirmed.

"And your son," she added.

Okay he wasn't liking where this was going. He started to wonder what she had figured out, Max. Just the name Max alone worried him. Why she'd said her name to Clemente he'd never figured out. Luckily it had been like a game of telephone, some heard Max, others heard Jax, everything had been reported in the papers, Matt, Kat, some said she hadn't said her name, others said she'd said "You can call me the man." Still though, long dark hair, olive skin tone, everyone had seen that. Sure her hair was shorter and in its normal waves, but it didn't mean he didn't worry. The fact that none of her deliveries hadn't been greeted with a gun waiting for her continued to amaze him, luckily though people never tended to actually 'see' anyone performing a service. Wrong on a multitude of social issues, great when it came to keeping Max safe.

So the question remained, _what had Gabby figured out? _He nodded.

"You're still in love with her," she said stripping off her coat.

_Hadn't been expecting that one, _"I care for her a great deal. We're friends, she's my son's mother," he said the carefully scripted words.

"Care?" she scoffed, "You love her. Don't even try to deny it Cale. Not really the type I would have guessed you'd fall for." Then again that kinda made sense; all those picture perfect females with their five hundred dollar shoes had never seemed to hold his interest.

He wanted to laugh and say the honest words, 'No shit.' He couldn't though because in no normal world would that make any sense, only in theirs in which touching her meant his death. "We tried it didn't work out, this is easier. We don't want to do that to Cale." What they didn't want to do to Cale was have his parents being happily together and then being forced apart, forced to stay at a distance or worse ending up with only one parent.

"You guys seemed fine to me," she said rolling her eyes as she leaned with her coat draped over her arm.

"And we are at the moment because we aren't together."

"That's the wuss's way if I ever heard one."

"It's the mature and responsible way," he said starting to ignore her and going over the background information on the high rise that was being finished and refitted for the upper class and what had happened to the squatters that been living in the mostly completed development.

She was about to repeat her previous statement, when she heard the cries of 'turn up the volume' flow through the room. The pitch the voices took informed her that this wasn't yet another car chase, not another standoff with the cops, no that pitched informed them of something even greater and sure enough the volume was turned on just in time to hear his voice, "It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city." She watched Logan's eyes widen in confusion as everyone quickly silenced and his was the only filling the newsroom.

He'd been out of the game for awhile before Eyes Only came on the scene. He wasn't aware of how Eyes Only had done a lot to keep them out of the black and in the red. People today didn't seem to have much interest in the news; it was the same thing everyday. The world was broken and nothing was being done to fix it.

Eyes Only did though. He changed things. Halted whatever corruption he or she could. More importantly though he inspired people, reminded them change was possible and good sometimes did triumph over evil.

Just like in the case of Cale Industries.

Gabby knew Logan had lost it all because of this man or maybe even men. She'd talked to a few people who had been informants, the chain of which was seemingly endless and they always said 'He,' almost everyone said 'he,' but who really knew?

Gabby for awhile had thought Logan had been one of those involved, maybe he really was so moralistic that he had been able to stand to the side and watch his family and everything that the Cale family had been working towards for generations be destroyed, but she doubted it though. She couldn't imagine allowing that to happen to her family, she especially couldn't imagine to continue working for the person who had done it.

There was no hatred in his eyes though as he too stared up at the screen and listened, aside from that momentary look of being startled there had been no sign of emotion visible on his face as everyone was already plotting stories to coincide with what he was saying about another drug shortage at the hospital being caused by yet another Sonrisa wannabe.

The list of possible stories for tomorrow grew; focus on the last major scandal, Sonrisa and his death, the tie-ins with the Steckler, Bruno Anselmo being gunned down outside of the courthouse. That whole slew of stories that had nothing to do with current events, but would be guaranteed to sell papers. At least they were a reputable source of information, albeit old information…Places like _New World Weekly, _were guaranteed to have even more 'Who is Eyes Only' stories or even better were the Eyes Only – Transgenic linked stories. Not that anyone really doubted they were linked, but somehow she doubted what the paper claimed that the transgenics had become his own personal army and they were going to be taking down the corrupted government he fought so strongly against. However, it had done a lot to lessen the anti-transgenic sentiment because many in the city seemed to love and trust Eyes Only, he had yet to steer them wrong, unlike the people they were supposed to trust.

Of course if _New World Weekly _ever got a hold of the fact that several months ago it was discovered the heat sensors on the hoverdrones had all been tampered with and it was strongly suggested to the city that they remain that way she had a feeling that anti-transgenic hatred would flare up again, which was why all of the legitimate editors in the city were keeping that news quiet.

"Well uh, that was something," Logan said turning his attention to her as voices once more flowed through the newsroom, people instantly coordinating with each other.

Gabby smiled, "Didn't Tom warn you?" They'd gotten used to it some years ago, credible sources weren't exactly the biggest draw after the Pulse, then again you also didn't get sued nowadays, you got shot or worse.

"He did," Logan nodded still wondering why exactly Alec or Zen hadn't cleared this with him first. Everything had been set up for quite some time for them to be able to do it on their own, similar to what Max had done with Bronck. There were two reasons behind it, the first being Logan now had deniability, he'd have alibis, the second was that he'd wouldn't be crucial to Eyes Only, in case he was indisposed or dead. He hadn't been a big fan of the latter of the reasons.

She sighed, "I should probably get to work." She made a half-hearted attempt at standing before sitting back down. "Alec and Zen meeting us at Doyle's?"

Logan chuckled softly at her, "What is it with you and them?"

Gabby smiled thinking of two men she hadn't known for long, but amused the hell out of her. It was a weird group to go out with; Gabby had never really gotten the full story behind how the two other men had become so close with Logan. The similarities were there aside from the height, the blonde hair and light eyes and the fact that their body frames were rather different from most who frequented Doyle's, which certainly made her envied by most of the women in the bar. All three were highly intelligent, though after a few drinks that seemed to leave them all. Of course the two younger men were those of a generation of self-taught individuals. Still made for some rather interesting conversations and even a few odd dares, of course they'd yet to talk Logan into one. "They're fun," she simply answered with a shrug of her shoulder.

Logan shook his head, almost reminding her of an older sibling.

"Are you going to hide from us again? Acting like you don't know us?" she teased just as they had last week, when Logan had left them for the majority of the evening getting caught up in vicious competition with Kerry, a secretary at Bradley, Hartford and Associates. By the end of the night Gabby had been forced to realized she'd previously judged the other woman too harshly since every female that worked there was unofficially required to basically be stunning and she was no exception. _God she was grateful to actually have a job where her brain was her most highly respected asset. _

Logan laughed again over her comment and shook his head in amusement.

She groaned as she pushed herself back up, "Okay I'm actually going now." She sighed as she walked away and followed it up with another groan leaving Logan once more looking at his own work laughing.

* * *

**Thanks for reading guys!**

Story Related--

**Cale:** Maria pointed out that she would like to see more of Cale's X-8 abilities emerge. Her idea was in the form of building the Space Needle out of building blocks in preschool, which I've got to agree with you is a cute idea, no curved blocks create a bit of a problem though. So I thought I would take a moment to explain to everyone where Cale's development is since he is shown in a very limited sense.

Physically he is more advanced, his coordination, dexterity and speed have always been well above par, his first injury was at two and a half years old, which wasn't just do to diligent parents. Not to mention his ability to escape and evade Joshua repeatedly, which highlights his physical skill, but also his mental.

Okay now was for intelligence. He is an intelligent child and I'm sure if he had any interest in learning to play the piano as Alec wanted him to he could have gotten it down. He's at that point where he does what he wants because as OC tells Max, "He's a spoiled brat." His vocab is more advanced than other kids, he'll remember a word, like sting ray, if he's paying attention to it. He also understands what's being said more than other kids his age, of course he's not even three so he's allowed to chose not to listen. If he wants a cookie, he's gonna keep asking for a cookie even if he just ate.

I'm not a big fan of that whole way too developed X-series thing. Manticore wouldn't have been able to figure out how to have a mature brain in a toddler. Brains continue to grow after birth and things just plain and simple take time, one step at a time, though those steps come earlier for them.

Also a lot of training went into developing their young minds into the minds we see twenty years later. This also goes with their physical skills, think of the underwater scene.

So once more in short, Cale's smarter than kids his age, but spoiled brat/2 year old factor makes it so that isn't noticeable most of the time, we will be seeing it in school though. And he is more physically advanced, I do have Logan refer to him as a monkey so assume he does climb up to the counters and Logan had begged Max not to teach him. And once more kid doesn't get hurt, he's got skill don't worry. Oh and assume things like child safety latches on cabinets only work because Cale's been taught not to open them. Though I'm pretty sure all of us at 3 could pop those suckers open.

* * *

People--

**Babyangel:** It was two years, two chapters ago. Hell I even used the number in the title, what's with this three/four year stuff. You're not paying attention, read first and then we'll talk about longer chapters :-D Added the doc into this chapter since you brought him up.

**All Grown Up:** Max did have a point to the separation, after the virus struck again Max told Logan that things needed to change because they were too comfortable with each other and when they get comfortable they tend to do stupid things, same reason she gave Logan after they hooked up in his living room. Yea these past few chaps have all been repeating the same thing bc 70, 71, and 72 were all supposed to be one chapter; transition to the change that occurs in 73. 69 is the start of the final arch of the story so I wanted that to be on its own and not just a quick side note. Oh and I totally admire and appreciate that you're still reading the story after this long :-D

**Idlehands**: Oooh maybe it's the SoCo that keeps causing my hangovers, I just thought it was the absurd amount of booze :-D

**Maggie:** I'm totally flinching at the fact that you printed this….Why oh why oh why did I not spell check better. I'm sorry. Thank you though, it's a very nice compliment.

**Lioness-Rampant**Wow, you read so much of my stuff in such a short time. I'm amazed you aren't sick of it yet. Oh and you can't read this story in one sitting anymore, I totally go cross eyed less than halfway through it. :-D


	73. Logan's Bday Bash

AN: Okay so since it's Logan's Bday this chapter is going up. (It was the only story close enough to Logan's bday---Only had to go back a chapter). A nothing exciting chapter at all. But will probably leave everyone a little less pissy than the last one. :-P I hope you enjoy.

Remember to kiddify Cale's speech in your own mind (oh and yes I'm aware that's not a word).

* * *

**Chapter Seventy Three **

_Logan__'s B-day Bash _

* * *

**November 11, 2023-Logan****'s House: **

He smiled watching from a stool as Max moved around the kitchen with an extra bounce in her step, a smile that seemed to illuminate the whole room. The brown curls held back in a ponytail that too bounced with her step, wearing a fitted black scooped neck long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. The only skin showing on her was her face and neck, her hands covered by sterile gloves as she prepared dinner. He knew without a doubt he'd never seen her more beautiful than in this moment as she scooped a standing Cale into her arms as he was standing on the counter pulling at the cabinets.

"What have we talked about, about standing on the counter?" She asked trying to stay serious, but the happiness just seemed to be pouring out today and Cale giggled in suit as she tickled him. "I'm gonna make you sit on the floor as I cook, if you keep it up mister. And no cake."

The 'no cake' knocked that smile right off his face, "No cake?"

"No cake," she nodded.

The kid look positively horrified.

"You gonna sit?"

He nodded.

She smiled and kissed him on the head as she returned him to the counter, closing the cabinet above him.

"Kid's got your appetite?" Bling asked pausing in his task of peeling carrots that Max had assigned him after only one half-assed dismal of his offering to help. She was going all out tonight, two large chickens waiting to be roasted, the makings of macaroni and cheese still being kept separate before being put in the oven, batter for cornbread and a few other side dishes, most of which he'd been informed were Cale's favorites when he'd looked a little puzzled since none of those things had screamed Logan Cale.

She smiled even brighter, "Only when it comes to desserts, this kid is a sugar fiend."

Bling laughed.

She shook her head as she went back to slicing onions across from him, "Don't laugh, guard your dessert plate."

"Cake," Cale nodded and smiled and joined in the adults' laughter that followed.

-o-o-o-

"No need," OC said a few moments after arriving and cutting off her girl who was about to make introductions. "I remember Bling from the day you got the hunk of metal in your neck. We all got real close, real quick that day." Pursed lips and a shake followed, "Then again that might have been pity since everyone knew the truth about my best girl, 'cept me…Always the last to know everything."

Max rolled her eyes for that statement.

Bling's mind quickly flashed back to that day, arriving to find Original Cindy's eyes darting back into the office as she awaited him in the doorway and being led to Max who was so incredibly still on the floor in Logan's arms. He'd been amazed as he lifted Max into his arms to joint cries of 'be careful' just how small she actually was, so much power in such a tiny little body. "Whatever happened with the implant?" he asked amazed he'd never questioned Logan on it since she came back, then again there had always been other things at hand.

"Good ol' US of A ingenuity. Brains at Manticore actually proved useful on something."

"We just skippin' over those three-four hundred folks I met at TC, little boy in the other room?" a finger flick towards the door. "Yourself?" the finger moved towards Max. "Saving the world?" that was both hands flipped to palms up.

"Why do you and Logan always feel the need to point those things out?" she asked with a quick nod as Bling smiled.

OC smiled, "Gotta keep you in your place. Seeing only bad is guaranteed to make you real miserable, real quick."

Another roll of Max's eyes.

"So," Cindy said turning scanning the kitchen, "where's the stuff for cake? Didn't try to make it without me did you?"

-o-o-o-

"You look good doing this?" Bling said shortly after Cindy left to attempt to get the cake batter out of her hair after turning quickly and whipping her hair into the spoon Max had been holding out for her, but not paying attention as to where she was actually located, which had resulted in a mixture of grumbles and laughter.

Max turned from mid-lick of the wooden spoon covered in chocolate cake batter Cale was trying to keep from her. She looked puzzled as he looked over at her, then smiled. "Did you not think I had it in me to be domestic?"

He laughed, loudly. "Frankly no…Weren't your domestic skills limited to boiling water not so long ago?"

She smiled, "Quick study. Watch Logan long enough and you pick things up. He's even got Cale helping out with dinner." Max smiled thinking of how Cale looking scooped high into his father's arms throwing ingredients into a bowl or a pot.

"I was actually talking about that," he gestured to her and Cale. "You and Logan both look really happy."

"We are," she answered truthfully. She was happier than she had ever expected to be and a hell of a lot happier than most people she came in contact with.

"You know I've got to admit I never expected this out of either of you," Bling nodded. The Max and Logan he had spent the most time with had been ones he'd hoped would one day get their act together, but he'd seriously doubted it. They'd both kept their emotions so bottled up and it caused them to be blind to seeing those emotions in others. He certainly had never expected this much from them.

Max smiled and nodded, "You're not the only one." She ran a hand over Cale's hair; the little boy looked up annoyed that his eating was being disturbed.

Once more the adults just laughed.

-o-o-o-

Logan ran a hand through the front of his hair shaking it up after turning off the ignition, it was getting long, he was either going to have to cut it or start really spiking it again and he wasn't too sure how he felt about a thirty four year old still spiking his hair. _What was it about your birthday that you suddenly felt old? _

It caused him to knock down his rearview mirror as he leaned over and grabbed a pair of gloves out of the messenger bag/briefcase he used for work. He flashed a quick look into it and ran a hand over his face and down to his chin over the smooth skin, no glaringly obvious wrinkles, that was always a good sign. _The small lines were a sign of maturity right_? He shook his head in disgust with himself that he was even wondering these things and went back to putting on his gloves. Another shake as he grabbed his bag with one hand and pushed open the door with the other…_What the hell was it with birthdays? _At least he was just spending it with Max and Cale, there shouldn't be too many comments about it; certainly much less than the hour he'd just spent with Alec and Zen at Doyle's.

A nice quiet evening at home with Max and Cale, he smiled walking up his front steps.

"Daddy," Cale called out as he launched into the hallway and towards his father.

Logan tossed his bag into the corner and hunkered down to catch his son. _How many dreams had he had about this? _he thought as he caught his son and stood with him still in a hug. Coming home from work, Cale running to great him, the smell of dinner cooking and Max being the one to cook that dinner…Totally chauvinistic, but still…

"Happy Birthday," Cale repeated what his mother had coached him on for half of the day.

"Thank you," he smiled and kissed his son's head.

"We're having cake," Cale said looking up at his father with a greedy little expression.

"Are we?" Logan asked with another smile looking down as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Uh huh," Cale nodded, "Aunt Cyn made it."

_Original Cindy? _ Logan's mind briefly paused on that wondering if she was here or had just topped by to help Max, he was hoping it was the latter as he jumped back in startled surprise since his head had been looking down at Cale as he pushed through the door to screams of "SURPRISE!"

-o-o-o-

"You know you don't look particularly happy to see us," Alec said softly walking up behind Logan as they were being herded into the dining room.

"Just surprised," Logan lied. "Isn't that the point of a surprise party?" he asked. Sure he was surprised; he was also annoyed to all hell. It was his birthday after all, should he get what he wanted on his birthday? Max and Cale. That was what he wanted and all he wanted. Not Alec, not Asha, not OC or Bling, not Zen, Vida or Josh. _Apparently what he wanted didn't matter though…_

He smiled seeing the paper plates on the table, Max had finally kept good on the promise she'd made repeatedly last year and he was guessing his son had a had at keeping the dishwashing to a minimum because they were bright blue and had a spotted puppy on them. His thirty-fourth birthday was looking a lot like his fourth.

"Oh no one brought gifts," Alec said raising his voice to a normal level, "Max said you'd hate this enough without adding gifts to it. So blame Max if you wanted any."

"Thank you," he nodded in Max's direction who was putting a platter down on the table.

She looked up and smiled.

_Be happy for her Logan_, he reminded himself.

-o-o-o-

The wine flowed freely around the table, the wine and jokes. Jokes about his age, jokes about the fact that he'd actually made it this far for which Max had frowned at, especially when they went into detail. Cale had gotten annoyed/confused by the lack of attention on him and not understanding most of what was going on and being put in a situation he wasn't used to since there hadn't been any big dinners in quite some time, got cranky and left his seat in between his parents to go to Josh, who was always guaranteed to give him his completely undivided attention.

The attention had thankfully transferred off Logan for a few minutes to Cale who had his plate shifted over and picked at his food from Joshua's knee. Of course as Cale returned to his normal cheery self, the attention returned…

"You know thirty five if you round up is 40." Max said towards the end of her 'why she was doing this, this year instead of next and after he asked why he'd be depressed at 35, which had been her answer.

He stopped laughing and looked across seriously at her over the rim of his glass. _How could his eyes always hold her like that? _She wondered as they did just that. "You don't round up birthdays."

"Just saying if you did…" she smiled sweetly.

Alec snickered, "Come on, go easy on the man. Thirty-four's gotta be hard enough as it is without throwing 40 into it."

Logan was about to thank his friend before taking a bite of the asparagus he'd just speared until…

"I mean he's been past his peak for over a decade, that's got to be rough enough as it is."

Zen let out an extended "Oh," as he laughed. It wasn't as if this was an uncommon joke amongst them, though the dinner table was a new place for it to happen. Normally Logan gave the dignified response of 'Whatever you need to tell yourself Alec.' It was a good response better than actually saying aloud the various females their age including Alec's girlfriend that had wanted Logan.

His mouth was opened ready to respond as he first waved the fork towards Alec, but he was stopped by Asha who smiled sweetly, "Baby," she said with a pat on Alec's hand "maybe you're not the person talk about peaks" and kissed his cheek before patting his hand again.

The entire table followed that with a snicker or straight out laughter, most of them stifled it by taking a sip or a bite. "No," Alec turned looking around the table, "no, no." "Ash," he said looking at her, "tell them…" his voice trailed off catching her smile sweetly as she took a bite of pasta. "Fine, fine, think whatever you all want," he said stacking food on his fork, "doesn't bother me a bit."

-o-o-o-

_Her hands slid around his back and a kiss was placed against his shoulder blade before her head turned and rested against it allowing her body to lean against his. _

"Hey man," Alec said coming up and slamming him on the back and forcing him to open his eyes and see the darkened backyard. "Booze starting to kick in?"

Logan shook his head, though he knew that was a lie. The two beers and shot he'd had before coming home, the wine with dinner, the beer that had been placed in placed in his hand upon standing…Was probably decently responsible for the fact that he was daydreaming about Max. Not that that was uncommon, just with a house full of people...

Daydreams involving Max were nothing new in his life, he'd had them from the moment he met her and assumed he'd have them for the rest of his life. They had taken on a new quality after those 27 hours they had spent together, a realism when before it had just been him speculating. He would bet money now on that would have been exactly what Max would have done as he stood staring out the window, pondering life on his birthday…And even more important he knew exactly what that kiss felt like, the pressure those arms would exert around his waist, the weight of her head…Times like this though he wasn't exactly sure that knowledge was a good thing. He hadn't figured out yet if you missed something more once you've had it or if you hadn't.

"What is it with you and windows man?" Alec asked.

"Would you prefer I stare at a wall?" Logan asked.

"Good point," Alec nodded.

"How's everyone doing?" Everyone meaning all the guests since Max had gone to put Cale down only a few minutes ago after giving his father one final birthday kiss, Logan had gotten distracted getting a new beer from the fridge and found himself staring out the window instead of returning.

"Smashed," Alec nodded, "no one's making it to work tomorrow." It was an overstatement, the X-5s would recover in plenty of time, their bodies were meant to heal and that meant even from alcohol. 

"Who drove?" Logan asked, since all cars/bikes had been hidden out of his view.

"I'm gonna take Zen's car, drive them home and Josh. Bling's going to take OC home."

Logan nodded.

"Still pissed we intruded on your little dinner?"

Logan just turned slightly, with the '_what do you think' _look.

Alec laughed, "Don't blame us, blame Max. OC tried talking her out of it. I think she still wanted to get back at you for her 21st."

Logan smiled, remembering how Max looked wearing that silver tiara in the middle of Crash.

"I'm gonna go do something with them," Alec said upon hearing a loud cackle come from the living room, "or they're going to wake the kid up."

-o-o-o-

Logan made his way up the stairs after watching Asha almost take a header sideways off the front steps; she'd been saved by Alec who muttered as various others complained that they didn't want to go home yet but out.

He stopped in Cale's doorway.

Her body was curled around Cale's as they slept underneath the dinosaur print comforter, the book she'd been reading him just dropped on the floor as she decided to fall asleep with their son.

_"I thought I wasn't getting gifts?" Logan asked as they had moved into the living room and he'd spied the package wrapped in brown paper, but tied with a blue ribbon, making sure it was obvious it was a gift. _

_Max shrugged, "Least I could do since I subjected you to this." _

_He smiled over at her as he moved to open it. He pulled open a corner with his finger and peeled apart the paper to reveal two paperback books. _

_"Was gonna get you something all old and classic…" another shrug, "Figured you'd appreciate something new a little more," she said it all before he even saw the cover of the books. _

_He smiled and nodded, he'd heard of the author, and as she correctly implied, new books were a hell of a lot harder to come by. "Thank you." _

_Another shrug. "Hey Cale go get Daddy's gift for him," she said to Cale who was amusing himself rattling on and on to Bling who was trying to keep up as they played on the floor with Asha. _

He knew eventually she'd move into a guest room, she wouldn't bother going home tonight. Probably stay long enough for breakfast, where he would remember the feel and taste of her shoulder as she flipped pancakes and it wouldn't be the fault of the booze.

He walked over and pulled up the corners of the blanket around them. Neither stirred.

She slept now. Original Cindy had been the one to share how she used to be, three hours a night were normal to her; she awoke at the slightest of noises. She actually slept now. Almost five hours apparently most nights. It took more than a breath next to her to wake her.

She wasn't constantly on guard now. He brushed back her hair. Stopped the running, the fighting. She wasn't constantly preparing for what was happening next, she was finally able to be in the here and now, content with the moment and life, no longer searching. He smiled and touched the pink nose of Cat, who was tightly wrapped in Cale's arms.

He wondered if Max was aware she'd given him the best gift ever.

A life.

And that was the biggest surprise there ever was.


	74. Time Marches On

**Select 73 on the chapter list people (that's the new one). This is a repost of the last chapter, they've just been shuffled around to include a Logan Bday chapter. Sorry about any confusion.   
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**Short little chapter. (which reminds me how did BA convince m****e 1500 words means a short chapter?) Trying to get some actual movement in the story. Thanks for reading folks, as always hope you don't hate.**

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**Chapter Seventy Four**

_Time Marches On_

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**Early February:**

She was dressed sitting in her window. Not staring out into the street and not staring back into her room. Just sitting and staring at the frame, not that she saw it. She wasn't lost within her mind reflecting about something, her thoughts were just wandering over nothing very important. They tended to do that, she was used to idly thinking about nothing important since most of her time was spent awake.

The shift in the bed caused her head to turn on instinct. The dark brown waves hiding the face that had buried itself in her pillow. Jeff, Jeff was in her bed on the side her son used to sleep on.

He was in her bed for the first time.

That was one of the thoughts that she kept pushing to the side as she tried to think about everything else.

She couldn't though.

_She would have thought they would have made it a year…_

One of those girly thoughts, after a year, she and Logan would be able to move on. But it hadn't been a year. They'd made it to December, ten months.

She hadn't really meant to move on; she wondered if he had, if he'd thought about it in depth.

She just seemed to fall into it. They were rebuilding another car for another X-5…It had started with someone returning with pizza and brew and spending the rest of the night bs-ing. Then she'd been out at a bar over by his place. There had been flirting, she didn't flirt…She knew for a fact she didn't flirt unless she was after something or it was a joke.

Okay well not with Logan, but nothing had ever been normal with Logan. Flirting had just made an appearance and most of the time she wasn't even aware of it.

She'd flirted with Jeff, knowingly flirted with him; encouraged his. Not that girly stuff, more of the cutting daring stuff.

Then one night out of nowhere it felt like, they'd left the bar as a few other X-series were getting decidedly rowdy and they'd pulled them out of there. The night was too young for it to just be over…That was all she really remembered thinking.

Then there was a kiss after his roommate went to bed leaving them alone in his living room. He'd initiated it, she'd deepened it. He hadn't questioned it, didn't ask her if she was sure…He knew for damn sure if she wasn't she'd let it be known. He just went with it and went with it meant stumbling backwards as they made their way to his room, stumbling because the X-5 couldn't see what was where on the floor.

She hadn't really questioned it until later.

It had just felt okay. It had actually felt okay so she went with it before it stopped feeling okay. That was another thing she hadn't done before Logan, she hadn't dragged her feet, she dove straight into things as she did that night.

Did she cry the next day? A little.

Did she regret it? Most of her said no, it was something she needed to do. There was that part of her that said yes, that girly part that wanted _his_ to be the last hands to ever touch her body, _his lips_ to be the last to ever touch hers.

Things like that were a surefire way though to speed along just how long his life lasted for.

So she'd fallen into bed with Jeff, who hadn't been pining for her. He'd had one night stands and two relationships, finding out like many others that managing a relationship with an ordinary was a difficult thing to do. Trying to keep their barcode hidden in intimate settings…Showers couldn't be taken unless the makeup was waterproof even then the matter of keeping hands away from it…Things like that, just like the lies that were a constant…More than just their back story, they always wanted childhood stories, name of first animal, first kiss, they could lie, they could keep their stories straight, Manticore had created natural players in that aspect, it was just the matter of lying day in and day out. It wore on a person.

Some came out and some relationships survived…Others had to flee town…He never cared enough to risk it.

They didn't discuss their relationship in depth. They were young, they were together for now.

Thinking, comparisons, what ifs weren't something she could allow herself to do.

Being with Jeff for the rest of her life meant one thing when she thought about it. She would never be with Logan again, her brain knew it, hell even her heart had mostly caught on, but dwelling on it…Remembering how it felt to be in his arms, to be in bed beside him…Comparing how his kisses had felt, his touch his everything, it tended to make the bile rise up in her throat. She'd feel dirty and guilty for ever leaving it behind, ignoring she had no choice.

He'd moved on she could still remember finding out he moved on…That had made her want to cry, it became so final…

She'd known he was seeing someone. Vida had told her in a sly attempt to make sure Max was fine with what she was doing with Jeff. No real details, just Logan was seeing someone he worked by.

By, not with, so she'd known it wasn't Gabbie.

Joshua had called her the Saturday right before Christmas as Cale had been frowning down at the eggs on his plate, completely ignorant and indifferent to what she had to go through to score the last fresh eggs at the market. She'd been mid coax as she picked up the phone, to Josh's frantic need. Mole and a few others were ready to launch war on the bits of media who had taken up residence at the gates, after a few had tried sneaking in.

She groaned wondering how exactly their new unofficial leader had become so popular in the ranks. Mole was constantly outraged over even the littlest of things. Max knew why, everyone that could walk the streets freely knew why. Those stuck inside Terminal City had simply traded their cells for a bigger one. No one knew what to do about it though, aside from hope that with time the rest of the country could learn to look past the physical differences.

So she'd kissed her son on the top of his head, not willing to put him in the middle of the screaming match she knew would occur once she arrived and promised Josh she'd get there as soon as she could and told him to call Alec and Logan. Alec since he had the closest thing to a relationship with Mole since he brought in the stogies Mole couldn't live without and Logan since he'd be the only one who could clear up the current issue of the media overstepping their bounds.

She'd been sitting up on a desk with her head buried in her hands listening to Alec and Mole battle it out when she looked up hearing his footsteps. Gray slacks, a light blue button down, a long winter dress coat over them…She realized wherever he'd been the night before he hadn't gone home from, that was not early Saturday morning attire.

He hadn't acknowledged it, hadn't given any guilty looks, he'd just ignored it and focused on the problem at hand as Max stayed ten feet away unable to stand the thought of another woman's smell being on Logan.

Alec had admitted it upon questioning. He wouldn't tell her who, he just confirmed her suspicions were right and anything else she had to get from Logan.

She thanked god Cale's birthday had already passed as she'd been jealous throughout Christmas. She stayed with OC over at Logan's and spent Christmas the same as they had last year, presents and breakfast there before heading over to TC. Her heart had been shattered though, she'd slept with Jeff, but knowing Logan had moved on made it even worse than she could have imagined. They had a mini blow-up after Christmas regarding New Year's Eve and they both became fully aware the other knew what they were doing as they both said they'd take care of their son in order for the other to go out. In the end Gem had put an end to it suggesting Josh and Luna, since they were taking care of Ronnie so Gem could finally celebrate a New Year's in style.

Things had been tense between her and Logan for weeks.

They had settled down now. Dinner wasn't primarily focused on their son so they wouldn't glare across the table at each other. They were relaxed once more, calm and joking and remembering they did this for a reason…to keep that…to keep each other in their lives for the next 50 years.

Jeff groaned causing Max's head to shoot around as he pulled the pillow he was sleeping with closer.

She decided to try the actually 'sleeping' with him in her bed and hopped off the windowsill and making her way around the bright yellow bulldozer bed Alec and Zen had created for Cale's third birthday proclaiming if he slept with his mother any longer he was going to end up more psychologically scarred then them.

She expected Cale to have a problem making the adjustment since he'd always slept with her when he was with her. She was sadly mistaken, the boy had immediately fallen in love with the wooden creation the two men had built complete with a working scooping mechanism, which made getting her to son to actually sleep quite a challenge at times.

She had a feeling she was going to be having that same challenge as she stripped off the layers she'd put on to ward off the cold winter air she'd allowed in and slid into the bed.

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**I have cranky reviewers don't I? _Sorry, I did warn you in the title "Moving On" didn't I? _**

**Okay so yell away, but please remember to be happy I didn't actually force you to read about them with others. Things that seem bad can always be worse. :-P  
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-o-o-o-

AliasSpyCrazy: You leave a very good review, totally inspired me to finish and post this chapter before doing anything else.

maggieann452: Haha I'm responsible for some family time. That's totally making up for my normal freakin out over all my mistakes when I see the word print along with one of my stories. :-D Don't fear this story is being finished. I just tend to get distracted at times.


	75. Layers

Bob: Very nice review, you totally helped to shape part of my chapter with the maturity comment, since I had their actions/thoughts based more on complacency in my head (though the dictionary does not appear to agree with my definition of the word, it's the one I'm using :-P since others do it aside from me)

Maggieann: Ahh don't start with the "don't leave" again…I got yelled at so much after that got brought up the last time. I'm definitely not going anywhere after this story is done (after all at the moment this is only one of five and those still have plenty of work left to be completed).

**AN: **Okay so the final chapters have been all plotted out and I think they may seem a little rushed. X-318 graciously agreed to look over a rough outline for them and she agrees with me that they do indeed seem rushed, but she's like me and we can't think of what we'd do to change that or even if it needs to be changed. So I'm sorry…Oh and if there's anything you wanted to see included in this now would be the time to say so. Anymore characters you'd like to see make an appearance? Or anything I missed (yes I know a cure…I mean anything else)?

**Hmm totally changed my vibe to this chapter after reading some NCIS fics (Sequitur in case you're interested, though I think I'm the last person to discover their stories). I swear my original version of this chapter was so much more bubbly.**

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**Chapter Seventy-Five **

_Layers _

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He slid the file into the false bottom that had been built into the second drawer of his desk. Preparation for any would-be-robbers that came and made their move while he was out of the house.

The material things they could get away with, _though probably wouldn't, not with the discrete surveillance he had sent up around the house._ The secrets this house kept were another.

Sometimes he felt like the superhero they occasionally teased him about. However, it was generally because no matter how hard he fought, how many bad guys fell, there would always be another to take their place, _there would always be another edition or a sequel. _

Though they seemed to be lessoning now or maybe it was just a lull. Whatever it was, he was glad he wasn't quite so alone in it anymore. _It had felt that way before._ Even with the informants, the body guards, the other groups who were also trying to do their own little bit of good…He had felt alone in the fight until she came into it.

_Alone was the last thing he was now. _

He shifted everything back into position, nothing a common thief would take notice of, hell he'd seen X-5s miss it and they were trained to take in everything (a benefit of having it constructed by an X-5).

His thoughts shifted back to the comic book thoughts…He had a secret lair and gadgets that would have made them all proud. His computers were rigged with booby traps built into the constant need for passwords. A screw up occurring more than twice meant the entire hard drive was dumped.

They were backed up of course, upstairs in the actual 'Secret Lair.' A section of attic that had been cornered off and the difference made invisible to any passing glances. Zen had pointed out its necessity in those very first months they'd lived together as Logan could no longer keep his secret hidden since he was no longer allowed to be alone.

The house was a prime target for those would-be-robbers with no security guarding it 24/7 unlike his previous address. Not to mention the penthouse had been secluded, isolated, just him and the very few others he allowed in.

_This house… _

This house reminded him of Grand Central. People were coming and going constantly, something always seemed to be going on within it. Knocking was just for show, no one ever seemed to actually wait for him to open the door. Doors were just flung open and names were called.

If that didn't clue people into his identity in the middle of a broadcast, he was sure Cale zooming around with whatever toy he was playing with would.

_Yea he had a secret lair now; complete with probably the coolest gadget he would have been able to dream up as a boy in the exo. And he would give it up in an instant... _

He looked down at the large ruled paper that Cale practiced his abc's on. He looked at the carefully crafted D's in both capital and lower case.

When he thought about it carefully now, Eyes Only scared the shit out of him.

It didn't only put him in harms way, but Max and their friends and most importantly Cale who had absolutely no say in the matter.

A necessary evil/risk though. Seattle had to be kept on the road to recovery; the anti-transgenic sentiment had to be suppressed, until the day it could be alleviated completely.

His fingers traced over the indentation of 'M. Cale' written in the blue ink of the teacher's bubbly print.

The kid couldn't be like Madonna or Cher, they'd decided early on and he certainly couldn't be Cale Cale, for the sake of being normal, he needed two names and Logan still wasn't willing to share his. Cale needed his own identity, just as Logan had as a child. So Michael Cale was the name he was learning to write, even though Cale was the name he was still called. His teacher seemed to appreciate the unusual choice they'd made by having him referred to as his last name since she already had three Michael's in her preschool class.

He smiled once more looking down at those large, slightly sloppy letters, far better than any of the other kids in his class. Cale had already caught up to the class, despite only being in school for less than two months versus their six.

He was reminded of Alec's words as he moved to return the paper to its counterparts on the small wooden table under the windows as he thought of C ale enrolled in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School (Max's choice of course after actually witnessing first hand what the public schools were like nowadays).

Alec had called them mature.

It had happened just a few short weeks ago as Alec realized their detailed/scheduled/organized lives. School was from 8:30 to 3:15. Logan took him on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Max picked him up, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Meaning Logan had him, Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. They shared him on Wednesdays. Max picked him up and kept him until around 5:30 when she'd head over to Logan's with him. They'd do family stuff then, dinner, playtime, whatever the mood called for, but they spent the entire night together. Almost nothing interrupted or separated them. They were together through cooking dinner, bath-time, playtime, through story-time and up until bedtime.

_Mature though? _

That world had startled him.

It was certainly a more grown up life than he'd ever expected, more than he'd ever expected for Max, certainly more than he ever expected from them together.

_It was frighteningly scheduled. _

Cale's time just about perfectly divided between them and they'd both chosen to adjust their work hours to suit Cale and maximize their own time with him.

He wasn't sure though, if their lives were a matter of maturity or necessity.

They needed the rules to govern their lives.

_It wasn't really maturity, but complacency maybe? _

They did what they had to do.

This was what they had to do.

All of it.

The doorbell rang, startling him. Caused him to look down at the papers he'd picked up to straighten and had forgotten to put down. He did so now as he moved to turn out of the room wondering who exactly had used the doorbell, half amazed it even worked.

-o-o-o-

He'd been startled to see her. She expected that. He'd done everything in his power to keep her out of his house. But part of her had deep down believed that startle would quickly turn to a happy surprise.

He looked happy to see her, but she wasn't quite so sure he meant it. He continued to look slightly puzzled and double checked that the plan had been for him to pick her up at 4; even they both knew for sure it had been.

Instead she had been on his doorstep at 3:15; she'd known it was his house from the time he'd quickly stopped by after work for a bottle of wine with her in the car on the way to her place. Dating for over two months and not seeing the inside of the other person's place set off more than just a few alarms. She'd grilled Gabby after one drink too many just a week ago. All she'd gotten was hot ex and cute kid.

She knew the cute kid part, she'd seen pictures and she understood him not wanting to introduce someone temporary into his son's life. She knew the days and times she got to be Logan's girlfriend.

It wasn't really something that bothered her; in fact it was kind of nice. They knew what to expect from each other…Nothing too serious…It was nice…Suited her life…Her job prided itself on discrimination, marriages were looked down upon, kids were strictly forbidden or you got kicked to the curb. They were always supposed to be models of perfection in their 1940's secretary's appearance. Full face of makeup, perfect hair and trousers were looked down upon but were begrudgingly allowed in the cold winter months, but even those along with the rest of their wardrobe highlighted their femininity.

Kind of job that would have any feminist in an outrage. To most though it was a godsend, including her. She actually earned enough to live and live well, it was a guaranteed paycheck at the end of the week and at least the building was always heated to make up for the exposed skin.

_Kind of job though that made you distrust males…_Especially males who after two months of sleeping together had yet to show you the inside of their place. That creeping feeling that he had a wife had home was starting to look a hell of a lot more like a possibility because photographs of him with that ultra cute little boy she'd already seen pictures of were with a woman…One single woman and she was all over his living room.

Happy pictures.

Pictures so happy they looked staged. They also set the scene for what looked like a normal happy family home, certainly not one of a bachelor, even one with a kid.

She turned as he entered the room, now changed for their date into a pair of jeans instead of the sweats he'd lazily thrown on after his shower earlier.

"So this is Max?" she asked picking up what she assumed was the most recent photo of the young woman whose name she heard frequently pass the lips of the guys at Doyle's. Never any actual details, just quick questions about her, sometimes paired with things about Cale, sometimes on her own. Kerry didn't have any doubt that men would be so crass and bold to mention the name of the wife or girlfriend in front of the ignorant girl on the side.

Hot? _Yea maybe, kinda young though._ Logan was worldly and wise, the girl in the picture sitting in what appeared to be this very living room in front of a Christmas tree with Cale on her lap…_Well girl was the proper term._ Probably completely naïve to the bs her hubby (or whatever he was) was pulling.

"That is Max," he nodded slowly, wondering where exactly this was going. Really wishing he'd just taken her upstairs with him to get dressed instead of leaving her down here.

"So does Max live here?" her eyes firm and focused, not bothering to pussyfoot around the subject.

He laughed and shook his head, "No Max lives across town with her roommate."

"You sure about that?" Straightened strawberry blonde locks were brushed back over her shoulder as she studied his reaction.

"Quite positive," he nodded as his lips twitched with amusement and his eyes sparkled.

She didn't look convinced.

"Would you like to go look inside my closet?"

She debated.

He laughed again.

_Could just be a really good bluff_, she thought to herself. There was something hidden about him. A part of him he always kept to himself, granted a wifey at home was a bit larger than she expected…

She thought about the picture in her hand once more…_She was so young._ She had a light in her face that Kerry couldn't remember the last time she'd seen in her own. Reminded her of Logan's whenever he talked about Cale, that proud papa pride.

Logan chuckled again and shook his head, the smile remaining as he moved to retrieve the picture out of her hand as she continued to study him.

The cornflower blue eyes took in the twinkling light green. _Such honest eyes… _

The front door swung open, "Hey Logan, using your can, apparently this cannot wait five minutes."

A blur sped past the doorway, a blur of dark blue with a red hat.

A slower moving form appeared in the doorway. One that contained the face from the pictures. Her hair pulled back in a sloppy knot, her face showing the barest traces of makeup, maybe mascara or eyeliner to darken and emphasize those already dramatic eyes, a gloss over her lips or maybe she'd just licked them. Clothing didn't really fit someone she could see with Logan. The black jacket over the light pink v-neck shirt and black pants, the gloves still on from the outdoors, she didn't know why exactly, just didn't.

She had a startled look on her face and from the corner of her eye, Kerry could see not only a startled expression on Logan's as well, but one of guilt that wasn't quick to hide.

-o-o-o-

_Sucker punched, _Max thought as Logan and the girl (Kerry she was guessing after prying the name out of Alec last week), looked over at her stunned.

"Sorry," she forced the word to come out as she watched Logan in a half embrace with the woman just a little taller than her, with strawberry blonde hair that fell just past her shoulder blades, creamy skin that was making her light eyes look especially focused. "No matter how many times you ask, _Do you have to go?"_ she shrugged not exactly where she was supposed to go with this story.

Logan nodded after he fully shifted away from Kerry once the photo was settled in its original position and finally remembered he was supposed to be saying something. "It's always, _I hafta go now," _he smiled, wondering exactly how he was supposed to make this less awkward.

He assumed it was impossible, because try as he might, he still hated Jeff for no good reason. Just that he got to do what Logan dreamed of every night.

She smiled back.

"Uh, Max this is Kerry, Kerry this is Max and that little person who just ran past with no manners is my son, Cale." He smiled at the end.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," Kerry smiled. _Interesting development, _she thought in the midst of it all.

"So where are you two headed?" Logan asked as the room once more returned to the uncomfortable silence.

"Over to OC's new squeeze's for some home cooking," Max tried to keep it light.

"Max's roommate," Logan supplied after nodded, suddenly realizing Kerry would have no idea what they were talking about.

"Oh," she smiled and nodded as fake as everyone else in the room.

The question, _What about you guys?_ Was about to roll off Max's tongue until she realized she really did not want to know the answer.

"Should be a good time," she nodded.

_What was taking that kid so long?_ Max wondered as she stood there with a small smile plastered on her face. If Logan could teach him how to go, he should be able to teach him how to hold it.

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**Thanks for reading folks! **

Sorry it didn't turn out to be the lighter version I had planned.

Oh and if anyone's got any complaints about the pink shirt and Max, remember her wardrobe was refitted after the incident at Jam Pony, so she's still going to be wearing some of that.


	76. Racing through Time

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**Chapter Seventy-Six **

_Racing through Time_

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Late February 

Logan realized something in those early months of first having Cale, life that had once seemed to be speeding past, now seemed to move at the speed of sound.

It had been a gradual quickening that had started somewhere in middle school, then seemed to speed up dramatically once in college, but once Cale entered it seemed to have an exponential growth that had just taken off.

From silence to his name…a few words awkwardly joined together to full sentences.

It was more than Cale though; everything suddenly seemed as if it was racing by.

It seemed as if only yesterday he sat upon this couch feeling the crisp sofa under one hand and silky strands of Max's hair beneath the other, both of course altered in feeling by the gloves he seemed doomed to wear forever. How had it been so long ago that they dreamed of a cure? Expected one? Even from when they'd grieved of its loss.

It didn't seem like that long ago that her resistance had started breaking down and she started believing in the life they'd have together. She'd stretch out, place her head upon a blanket or pillow or sometimes even just on the impermeable cloth of his pants holding their sleeping son in her arms and be lulled into a state of relaxation by whatever as on the tv and the feeling of his hand in her hair. Even after the 'cure' was gone she'd sometimes give in to the need and would allow them that little bit of closeness.

He couldn't even remember the last time that happened now.

Things had just seemed to have changed overnight; despite the fact that technically it had been months in the making.

The only hair that ran through his fingers now was Kerry's. Long, straight and strawberry blonde. Max's hair had always entertained him, tugging on the ends watching the curls pop up.

Her hair belonged to another now.

He wondered if Jeff appreciated it. It's touch, its taste from kisses to the head and catching it while adoring her neck, the different shades it shimmered in the light.

_Who was he kidding? _

He knew Jeff didn't. Just like how he didn't appreciate Kerry's at all like that. It was always tinged with a scent of strawberries, but it never effected him an eighth of how Max's did.

A year ago today at this time they'd been on the couch out at the cabin. The flames were flickering low in the fire; neither of them would dare break the bond between them to throw another log on. She'd been tucked into his side, her hair smelled of wildflowers, courtesy he assumed of Maryanne or another of his cousins' wives; it had been intermingled with the woodsy smells of the cabin and Cale's scent of baby powder and wipes. His entire life had been curled up on that couch.

Thinking about it for too long, he would almost forget he wasn't a crier.

-o-o-o-

Early May: 

"Seriously couldn't have turned off your fuckin' phone could you Logan?" Kerry groaned and sighed at the same time as she buried her head the pillow.

_Oh that's what that noise was, _ Logan's sleep addled brain realized. "Could be an emergency," he was pretty used to getting those calls. He'd been called away on more than a few occasions providing her with only a shoddy excuse. She seemed used to it though, apparently the fact that more than a few of his coworkers were involved in some legally (though not morally) questionable activities was not as well hidden from the public close by as he'd assumed and he blamed the close proximity to the bars from their jobs.

_"You guys are a bunch of freedom fighters," she smiled as he'd tried to feign innocence when she'd started questioning him and putting more things together than he would have assumed. _

_"Yea that's me, devoted to making it so you can wear pants to work and not get fired." _

_She laughed and leaned over for a kiss, "Keep your secrets Cale, they don't bother me." _

He stumbled slightly extricating himself from the bedclothes, _8:17_ he blinked at the clock, god he was getting old, he needed more than five hours of sleep after more than a few drinks _and clothing,_ he thought as he rummaged through the pockets of his pants. Clothing was definitely key, it was freezing.

'Bennett?' _That's odd,_ he thought wondering why his cousin who rarely called would be calling so early, he hoped there wasn't an actual emergency. "It's my cousin," he said as he picked up the phone.

"Explain to him normal people should be sleeping at this time," she mumbled.

He smiled, "Hey Bennett."

"Hey Logan, I didn't wake you did I?"

"It's okay, what's up? Is everything okay?"

Kerry's eyes flittered open for that, she was like most people he knew, they had minimal interactions with their family, it was simply too difficult and expensive to keep the lines of communication open on a regular basis.

"Oh yea, everything's great actually. I'm sorry I just assumed you'd be awake with Cale."

"He's with Max today," Logan explained as he stepped into his pants.

"Oh," his cousin's voice trembled with hesitancy, not exactly sure what to say, if he was supposed to ask whose voice he'd heard muted in the background that he'd previously assumed was Max's.

"Ben?" Logan asked as he paused lifting up his shirt.

"What? Oh yea, listen I just wanted to let you know that Marianne's pregnant again."

Logan's mind flashed with pain remembering how happy his cousin had been to call him last September with the news of her first pregnancy, a follow-up call had come two weeks later and informed him the baby was no longer.

"She's due early November, actually. We've known for awhile, Marianne just wanted to wait until we knew everything was okay before telling everyone."

"That's great news Bennett, tell Marianne I said congratulations."

"I will, I'll let you get back to sleep now," he wondered if he should ask Logan to bring the unidentified voice over for dinner and actually attempt to get a clue as to what was going on in his cousin's life. Not today though he realized, it could wait another day. No reason to spoil the mood.

"Bye Bennett and congratulations again."

"Thanks Logan."

He slid the phone back into his pocket, and pulled on the undershirt that had been in his hand for the past few minutes and scanned the area for where his socks had been left. He spotted them over by the couch along with his shoes. _Great thing about a large studio, you never lost things for long. _

"Where are you going?" Kerry pouted as she curled into her sheets looking at him.

"I'm wide awake, figured I'd head home a little early, get some work done before I have to pick up Cale."

Another pout.

Socks pulled on, he walked over to her and kissed her head, "Go back to sleep, I'll talk to you later."

It was a lie, but he was used to the lies by now. He and them were old friends by this point. He had different plans than work. Head home, grab a quick shower, call Max and make sure she was home and head over there to tell her the news, maybe talk Max into grabbing lunch with him and Cale. Maybe the weather would be good and they could go to the park…

-o-o-o-

Fourth Anniversary 

A totally satisfied and content smile graced her face watching Cale brushing the tops of Logan's biscuit like creation with an egg wash, Logan only slightly hovering as Cale completed his task.

They were the cutest pair she'd ever seen. Logan like normal looked downright amazing in a pair of jeans that hugged him quite spectacularly when he leaned over and a fitted black ribbed sweater. And Cale like normal just looked damn cute, Logan was generally in charge of his clothes, (especially since she'd taken a cut in hours when Cale had gone off to school) and this outfit was no exception. A true Seattle outfit OC would always call it, jeans, a blue pocket tee and a blue, yellow and white plaid shirt over it, her son, the grunger.

She looked at their faces so close together and was reminded how easy it was to see similarities between them, there were times she forgot they didn't share any blood. Cindy told her it was because she loved Logan that she looked for him in their son. Like how when his hair had darkened over the winter months…She'd forgotten that Cale wouldn't actually grow up to look like Logan.

The similarities though made it easy to forget, the hair, the light eyes, the baby faces.

She smiled remembering back to telling one of the other mother's at school about Logan's surprise birthday dinner when she'd been planning her husband's.

_"34?" The other woman turned in shock from watching the kids on the playground, "drives the Aztek? Dirty blonde hair? Glasses?" She repeated the information even though she knew he was the only possibility. _

_ "That's him," Max nodded. 'Logan really does make an impression everywhere, gotta send Alec over here,' she thought with a smile. _

_The other woman pouted, "Thirty four? Really?" People didn't age like that anymore, looking good from your childhood to fifties and even beyond had been a thing of the Pre-Pulse world, not Post. People aged now. They aged rapidly. Her husband was thirty two and he appeared several years older than the single father that had been discussed in depth at the first PTA meeting and at a few play dates. A few had made their tries with him, all had failed. "If you tell me you're thirty-four too," the other mom finally responded with a 'don't you dare look.' _

_Max laughed, "No, definitely not, don't worry." _

She smiled again, _A truly beautiful pair._

-o-o-o-

"Hey that's not a toy," Max said swiping the pink grapefruit out of her son's hands as he attempted to roll it towards the yellow rose bud resting in the clear vase.

Neither of them mentioned the fact that they'd given each other a gift this year, a gift that was meant for wedding anniversaries, not…whatever they were. No mention of how jacked up the cost was on either of the gifts, especially the grapefruit which was months away from being in season.

A quick surge of pain tore through her as she imagined the grapefruit cut in two, frosted with sugar and the single bud resting on a breakfast tray.

_This was supposed to be getting easier, not harder right? _

She kept seeing everyone with their lives moving on the right track, or maybe it was just that they were moving, what direction was always questionable.

News of Logan's cousin's impending arrival had led to baby talk amongst the group. Zen and Vida actively talking about it, Alec actively avoiding it when Asha would try to talk about it.

Original Cindy had even dated a woman with a kid, which had once been high on her list to avoid, 'Everyone makes mistakes,' she said when Max had tried to question her about it.

Jeff had tried to question her about wanting more kids after he'd been duped into watching the offspring of their only successful relationship that had been bred from the breeding partners debacle. Not even questioning her about having them with him, just curiosity if she wanted Cale to have company like Caden and Jordan had, she'd had absolutely no idea. _Kids had just gone along with _ _Logan__ for so long. _

Even Normal was wrapped up in this whole new world as a surrogate father to Dalton, Normal had been training him in the business over the school breaks, though it was obvious his plans for Dalton and Ronnie went way beyond that of Jam Pony.

Even Josh was dating; at least she assumed it was dating, not willing to question him on exactly what went on between him and Luna, one of the felines shockingly enough. Logan liked to say it meant anyone could come together if a cat and dog could fall in love; it was a good sign for the ordinaries and the transgenics to make peace.

Everyone seemed to be making real progress in their personal lives except her. _She wasn't sure about _ _Logan__ and she didn't want to know. _

She just didn't know what steps she was supposed to take. She'd assumed that just getting into a relationship would lead to the next step, but it didn't. Instead they seemed to have frozen. She seemed to have frozen.

There were a list of things for her to follow when she thought about it; basic things that she knew would change her life. Spend time with Jeff and Cale together, allow her son to actually get to know the man who was in her life when he wasn't around, that was step one. Living together, having dreams together, making plans together, those were the steps that followed. Truthfully though, she wasn't sure she'd ever make it to step one.

* * *

One of these days I'm going to succeed in making a story/chapter coincide with the outline I have planned for it :-P (obviously that means like normal this chapter totally changed from planning to writing). I hoped you enjoyed, thanks for reading!  



	77. Seemingly Familiar, Completely Unknown

Damn realized Remnants which I had been planning on doing for today (which is the second to last day of the Babyangel Bday Extravaganza---please see DA: Reflections if you're curious), but that chap was waaaay too much like the last one of Attempts at Living (shopping and decorating). So a chapter of Moving On will take its place (and woohoo, there are only like four chapters left after this one!)

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Seven**

_Seemingly Familiar, Completely Unknown _

* * *

Summer came again without Max even realizing it. One day she opened her eyes on the street and saw everyone's bare legs. 

Summer came and so did school break and Cale couldn't understand why he wasn't seeing his friends anymore and kept asking to almost every other day. _What a freak her kid was…Missing school?…Obviously way too much time with Logan, poor kid, _she always thought with a smile.

So they signed him up in the summer program the school offered two days a week and once more shifted their work schedules, yet again were confronted with the fact that their lives revolved around their son.

The summer program ended with the normal work day, so they each switched their hours back to normal with the exception of one day a week each took off at half day simply to enjoy the summer.

Cale was happy to once more spend his days with Joshua and his other playmates in TC since more than a few of the other 'breeding partner' babies had recruited those in TC to baby-sit while they worked, since most were single mothers.

All in all Max had absolutely nothing in her life to complain about, aside from the one glaring never ending thing.

Aside from that she was happy and content.

She hadn't really taken that next step like she meant to. Jeff took it for her. One day he announced he was taking off work and so was she and they were going to the public pool that had just opened.

She tried and failed (like normal) to not make any comparisons between this trip to the pool and her last.

Apart from the obvious, Logan and Jeff themselves. It was still dramatically different. She applied the waterproof makeup to the back of his neck; he'd touched up hers even though both were hidden by dark hair.

She was able to get into the water. She was repeatedly splashed by Jeff and Cale who automatically ganged up on her. The water bottles and bits of food were passed between them on a regular basis.

OC joined them with a finger to her lips as Max asked, 'Aren't you supposed to be at work?' as if Normal could hear it from across town.

Max got splashed some more, but was threatened with dire warnings when she tried to splash back this time, _messing with Cindy's 'do' was as always a big no no and it generally egged Max on some more._

Cale of course went back to Bennett's with Logan and Max was pretty sure the public pool was no comparison, especially when Cale told her of the various toys that had been poolside waiting for him.

Step two was discussed as Jeff's roommate moved out and now had a free bedroom perfect for a little boy since it had heat, electricity and water on a regular basis. She contemplated it, but kept telling him she couldn't just leave OC to her lonesome. Cale would join her over there sometimes, they have dinner do nothing special, just hang out, but they always went home despite Jeff's offers of being a gentleman and she and Cale could share the bed and he'd take the couch.

-o-o-o-

Barbeques came and went. Happy memories were made, pictures were taken.

_Relationships were lost… _

'Why so glum chum?' Sketch asked tossing an arm around Alec and Alec responded with the same eyebrow look as Logan, which Max had almost snorted beer over. _Oh how had things had changed over the years… _

'I'm fine,' he responded.

'No he's not,' Gem walked over placing her glass of beer down. 'Asha broke up with him.'

'It was a mutual thing,' he defended, 'and how the hell do you know that?'

'Zen told Vida, Vida told me,' she shrugged.

_Seriously they were so a high school teenage drama. _

'We decided we wanted different things in life, better to make the break now,' he justified.

'Keep your apartment this time?' Max asked slightly more caustic than the funny she meant it to be.

'Asha moved in with a friend.'

_Hearts were left battered... _

'You miss her?' she asked two days later jumping up on a table next to Alec at Terminal City.

'I might,' he honestly responded to Max's sympathetic voice.

'Really mutual or just saving face?'

He gave a short chuckle, 'We talked about it for two weeks. We wanted different things.'

'A kid?' she asked knowing that had been one of the topics for quite a few months.

Another laugh, 'I'm not old enough to be a father. I like having a life,' he turned with a smirking smile, 'No offense.'

'There never is,' she laughed.

He shook his head, 'Asha just wanted it all. I wasn't ready to give it, I didn't know if I ever would be. She didn't like that answer.'

'I'm sorry.'

He shrugged and then laughed again, 'I blame you. Again,' he laughed jumped down.

'What did I do this time?' _Not that she had done anything last time._

'You and Logan" he shook his head, "hard act to follow.'

'Tell me about it,' she muttered.

-o-o-o-

July fourth came and they watched the fireworks together as a group over Lake Union with Cale covering his ears the whole time as he couldn't decide between watching it and hiding, repeatedly burying his head in Logan's shirt.

The venders in the beer garden made their money off her friends and OC busted her ass over a curb as they were walking to the car and sprained her ankle and found a use for men when Alec carried her the rest of the way after a few vain minutes of struggling and stubbornly swearing she didn't need any help.

Zen and Vida decided there was no way in hell they wanted kids any time soon being surrounded by that many loud and hyperactive children and another reason.

A kid went missing that night, a seven year old with curly red pigtails and freckles. The mother on the news said she only turned her back for a minute as she was packing up their things. Her body was found on shore of Union Bay almost two weeks later. The scariest part was she'd only been dead for a day, not even Eyes Only had any leads on that mystery.

Max couldn't decide if she wanted to reverse time and keep Cale at the age where he'd been content in her arms and in his stroller instead of the fun loving and always ready to explore three and a half year old, or if she could survive with just putting him on a leash. Joshua had frowned when she said that, she hadn't meant it…Well not really.

Sadly though, things like that weren't uncommon, just horrifying and their summer as well as Seattle's had been uneventful.

No serious threats to the transgenics or anything that raised the city up in arms about them.

Then it was their second independence day of the summer…

-o-o-o-

Kids young and old ran around like lunatics snatching up and consuming all the goodies that had been saved for weeks and months in preparation for this day.

Someone managed to get their hands on a large stash of water balloons and people were randomly assaulted. It was funny watching someone with military training being bombarded with water balloons; they didn't know how to act. Mole along with a few others tried to kill the person or persons responsible, but they never actually caught up with them.

People got drunk.

Someone started a fire.

The cops that had been called to the gates because of noise had no idea what they were supposed to do.

_It had been fun. _

Then she found him in the midst of it all sitting on one of the cheap patio chairs that had been placed on the roof as someone's terrace. She wondered how her place to think had become his, though he did stay far away from the edges. _He must miss his penthouse. _The height gave a distinct separation from everything else. Allowed you to be objective, reflective, a distinction that couldn't be achieved staring out when only two stories up.

'You okay?' she asked walking up to him.

He nodded, 'Just taking a minute. Enjoying the fresh Seattle air.'

Max laughed as he took a deep breath and made a face. TC always had a slightly 'different' scent to it.

She waited.

Waited for the three year comment.

Waited to hear how happy he was that she was alive.

Told her how proud he was of all the things she'd done.

Proud of the things they'd accomplished together.

She kept waiting, but he was lost in his thoughts most of the time.

She caught him looking over on a few occasions as if he had something to say, but then stopped.

'What?' she smiled and shook her head.

'Nothing,' he replied back with a shake that made her sure there was something he wasn't saying.

'What is it?' she asked again.

'It's nothing,' he repeated.

She started to make a face and prepared her verbal assault.

He stood, 'You know I think I'm going to head home now. I've got a long day at work tomorrow.'

She nodded. _Unsure of what to do, what was going on._ 'Cale's in Josh's studio.' When she'd left him there had been ten kids covered almost head to toe in the non-toxic paint Josh had created for them. Cale the only one without paint in his ears, having learned to keep the paint out of them without the use of the earmuffs finally.

'I'll talk to you tomorrow,' he nodded. 'Have fun.'

-o-o-o-

That had been the first time she noticed something was off, but not the last...

'Something's up with Logan,' she said the following weekend to Jeff after Logan had met her at TC to pick up Cale that Saturday and left almost immediately.

'What do you mean?' he asked as he wiped the grease off his hands.

'I don't know,' she shook her head. 'Just something's off.'

It happened again the next day; he dropped Cale off with her, kept replying to everything with short answers before begging off, citing helping Josh with some financial issues, the only one of them who had good financial issues thanks to his artwork. Others had gotten involved thanks to Rita's visits to Terminal City. A few whittled, one carved, a few made wooden furniture from basic tables to ornate headboards. _None had any degree of Josh's success however_.

A few hours later she walked into the main hall and Logan was standing there casually chatting with a group of people as if nothing was wrong. 'What the hell is up with him?' she muttered to herself.

'I don't know what you're talking about Max, the guy seems fine to me.'

She was slightly startled by Jeff's voice; she'd almost forgotten he was there. 'Something's off,' she said once more looking at him, acting perfectly natural and fine.

'May be you're just looking for something to be wrong.'

She turned for that confused by his attitude.

It had been the first of several mini-fights between them that had followed in the coming week.

The next had come with Alec, the following Tuesday at Crash. Jeff had overheard her asking Alec if he knew what was going on.

'You've got to be kidding me,' Jeff muttered with a shake of his head and turned away.

Leaving Max conflicted between waiting for an answer and going after her boyfriend. She stopped by his apartment after leaving Jeff's only to be put off as he swore he had no idea. _She knew it was a lie. _

Wednesday followed with another fight as he called her cell while at Logan's wanting her to come to his place. _Wednesday s meant Logan and Cale time, it had for their entire relationship._ She used the word family and repeated several times that it was for Cale as she turned him down, confused as to why the hell he was making such a big deal out of it. There was no way she was going to leave despite the fact that it was only a half hour before Cale's bedtime, she was fishing for information about what was going on with Logan.

Friday he seemed fine as he ate French fries and chicken nuggets with her and Cale at her place.

He'd slowly and longingly kissed her goodbye and reminded her he now had a spare bedroom at his place. 'I'll think about it,' she promised this time.

She had no idea what happened Sunday. They had breakfast out and stopped by Terminal City to drop off some groceries. She'd called Logan to tell him she'd pick up Cale from his place when he told her they were already out and he'd stop by there instead.

Cale had chased after Logan as he was leaving; realizing he'd left the lollipop he'd been given with his father.

Max smiled from across the room as Logan hunkered down and retrieved the lollipop from the book bag he'd been carrying around.

'You just can't fuckin move on, can you?' Jeff had said with disdain in his eyes as she turned to face him totally confused.

Logan hadn't heard what the escalated voices said, but he'd seen one angry and one shocked face. He walked back over with Cale at his side, 'What just happened?' he was looking decently miffed himself.

'I have no idea,' she answered still confused at Jeff's out of the blue blowup.

'I'm going to go talk to him,' Logan said turning.

Max went to stop him, 'Lo-' her hand stopping just shy of touching his bare arm. She pulled it back and shook it.

He looked over and down and stared at her hand still in the air.

'I've got it under control,' she said not mentioning their near miss.

He nodded. 'Call me if you need me.'

So summer came and went, some relationships survived by a thread and others fell apart. Fall arrived; leaving everyone to wonder what changes would come next.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

Logan's lips formed an 'Oh' as he stepped out into the hallway behind Cale. Cale was not so well mannered, he made a face and then sniffed the air.

"Not a word," Alec was the first one of them to speak and the worst looking and smelling of the two.

"I'm disgusting," Max raised her arms slightly out looking Logan directly in the eye.

"Uh Cale why don't you go back to the movie," Logan patted his son's back, shifting him away from the two very pissed adults.

Once he was gone Logan cleared his throat, "I don't suppose you managed to get that…" he voice trailed off.

You could almost see the smoke coming out of their ears.

"Caught onto the fact that we were there; decided to torch the place while we were inside," Max's nose fumed out a little.

Another 'Ooh' face.

"Come on Max, gotta point out at least the sprinklers were working and even if that falling bookcase did manage to wing you, they would have put it out pretty quick," Alec smirked, still obviously pissed off.

"Just like how the garbage was there to break your fall when that cover broke when you landed on it," she returned.

Looking down now, Logan could see the ripped jeans and traces of blood on Alec's legs.

"Blood seemed to be key today," Max continued to seethe and turned to show Logan what was left of the blood down the black of her vest. "But don't worry it's not mine, generally they let go when your arm connects with their nose, but this guy held on," she sarcastically smiled.

_Oooh,_ in his defense he would have definitely let go.

"What to know why they didn't let go Logan?"

He was about to try to be funny, but caught another look from her eyes.

"One of us, the fucker was one of us."

_Hadn't been expecting that one. _

"A fuckin transgenic with a biological starter kit!" her voice raised only a bit, but grew more steely.

"Did you recognize him?" He asked, he had to, despite her anger, lives were at stake. They had part of the mechanism for spreading whichever deadly agent they chose; at least he hoped they only had part. It wasn't an immediate threat, but could become one if they weren't neutralized.

"No of course not because that would just be too easy," her head shook speaking.

"Then how-" _If looks could kill,_ he thought and shut up.

"Oh I don't know, the fifteen feet they jumped to make it to the next building…" her head cocked to the side and gave him a look asking if he really wanted her to go on.

"You give Logan a description, call Zen get him over to TC talk to Mole, hopefully this isn't one of his stunts, I'm gonna go shower," he winced as he took at first step.

-o-o-o-

"Go shower Max," he told her sometime later as Cale kept looking over in wonder as to what was going on as Max described the guy she'd gotten a good look at and the back of the other guy's head to Zen as Logan listened in. His fingers flying over the keyboard as he searched for more answers to what he'd heard the underground refer to as the 'Compatriots' a new group that had only come to his attention recently.

Her jaw still clenched, she turned. There was nothing she could do at the moment until people started turning up answers.

-o-o-o-

Her mind was calmer the longer she stood under the spray of the shower after narrowly avoiding busting her ass on a stray sub Logan must have missed picking up after Cale's bath at the start of it, which had nothing to calm her down. _Everything was out to get her! _

Everything would be fine, her mind repeatedly told her.

Everything always somehow managed to turn out fine.

Logan had been paralyzed and gotten his legs back…_Twice._

She had died and come back.

Zack had died and come back.

They'd managed to stop the effects of what should have been a deadly comet.

This would turn out fine as well.

Put men on the perimeter of the power plant they'd need to make their little gadget work…Hope to hell they hadn't bought it already on the black market or would travel away from Seattle for one.

Check out the local stores that sold the other parts, any places they could steal them from.

They'd find the transgenics or the group...

They'd figure this out, stop them. Turn over any ordinaries to the authorities and then throw a public lynching for their own.

Their group was already divided; they couldn't take any more of this. If more than just a few stray outsiders thought things like this were a good idea, they'd probably succeed in taking down the country.

But that wasn't going to happen, her mind continued to try and reassure.

She stepped out of the shower and quickly dried her hair with the towel before moving onto her body. She stepped out into the hallway her body wrapped in only the towel since she'd been too heated to remember to stop in the guest room and grab some clothing.

-o-o-o-

Underwear.

Bra.

Black long sleeve tee-shirt to suit her mood.

Jeans.

Socks…Damn, no socks. She remembered Cale surprising her with the hose when she'd been chasing him around the house a few weeks back. She'd tossed the socks in her bag and apparently had never remembered to replace them.

She gave her hair another quick run with the towel after she was finished dressing and headed out the room towards Logan's.

She sighed pulling open the drawer, his socks always bunched over the top of her shoes, which is why she liked to keep her own here.

'Huh,' she thought as her eyes caught site of a glimmer of black underneath a stack of boxers. Just a small patch so she knew it wasn't another pair. She put down the socks on top of the dresser and neatly lifted the stack. A ring box?

Her head started to thump as her mind refused to allow her to think.

Her hand almost trembled reaching down for it.

Her mind must have shut down a brief second because the next thing she realized it was in her hands and she was sitting on the bed.

_Don't open it,_ her mind ordered, but her hands didn't listen.

Large emerald cut stone in the center.

Flanked by two smaller ones.

Yellow gold.

Fence value, 15-20 grand.

Store value, 30 easy.

She sat there for awhile. Simply staring down at the ring.

She finally blinked and realized they'd come looking for her soon.

She swallowed hard and returned the ring to its hiding place, took the socks and left the room.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone! (even though youmay hate me at this point) 

Merry Christmas to you too Maryanne!

And

Welcome to the story DillyP, hope you make it far enough to see this. :-D


	78. Multitasking

**Umm yea chapter totally got away from me _(again)._ This is what happens when I add random things so late in the game. Good news for those who aren't ready for this story to end because I'm pretty sure it means I need to have four chapters after this instead of the three I had planned. I'm sorry to those who are more than ready for that after sooooo many chapters. Thanks for reading!  
_(Oh and Alec is a little off in this chapter, I'm aware…He just did not want to cooperate with me)._**

Oh and if you want reminders as to who the original characters are:

**Zen **(you really should know him by now): Blonde, surfer dude attitude, blue eyes, Logan's best friend and around his height.

**Vida: **Zen's live in girlfriend, lived with Logan for brief spurts of time at the very beginning of the story. Light brown wavy hair, naturally highlighted with gold. Friends with Max.

**Cassia: **Vida's good friend. Wanted Logan. Alec drooled over her. Really hot with straight coopery brown hair. She and Max do not like each other, but share the same group of friends so they put up with each other.

**Kera: **Friend of Cassia and Vida's. Not at all important to the story with blonde hair.

**Luna: **Joshua's partly feline girlfriend. Very nurturing individual, she helped out with the young transgenics and babies at the start of the story. I think gray fur/hair when I write for her, but you can picture her anyway you want.

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Eight**

_Multitasking_

* * *

She was having a breakdown, while actively trying to prevent a catastrophe from occurring for real…. 

She'd returned downstairs to find Cale in charge of putting the antiseptic on Alec's wounds before Alec put the band aid on.

Alec would flinch or groan mostly for show and Cale would giggle.

"Hey Max, think I figured out what your kid's going to be when he grows up, a dominatrix…actually what do you call a male…"

"Can you just focus for once?" she snapped.

Hazel, blue and green eyes all shot over to her. All in shock, especially the youngest pair.

"What the hell's-" Alec cut himself short suddenly remembering the youngster in front of him.

"Hey, Buddy," Logan said standing, "it's past your bedtime."

_Dammit, dammit, dammit, _she thought to herself, still seeing her son's stunned reaction.

She was about to say, 'I got him' when she realized she wasn't in any position to soothe his nerves.

"Night kiddo," she said with as kind of face as she could manage, not that hard to do seeing his sweet little chubby cheeks, she stroked one quickly with a thumb.

"Hey," Logan said placing a hand on their son's back, "kiss your mom goodnight."

He did as he was told and Max enveloped him in a hug before releasing him to scamper up the stairs leaving Logan to follow him.

"So what the hell crawled up your ass?" Alec asked applying the final bandage.

"Transgenics planning on taking out-"

"Nah, Maxie," Alec said pulling down a pant leg, "that's not it and you know it."

It wasn't a question of him knowing her well, it was the basic fact that she'd been fine, well kinda pissy a half hour before, but she'd returned full-blown bitch. "Just drop it," she quickly nodded before settling into the spot Logan had just vacated.

-o-o-o-

She went to work on the sketch artist program Logan had installed on his computer and was finished with it before Logan returned downstairs and Zen and Vida arrived to take copies of it around to all known transgenic homes and hangouts.

Now she was listening with one ear as Alec and Mole went at it, while Josh and Luna ran around showing the printout to everyone he could find.

A crowd would start to gather soon, wondering what was going on; they'd automatically head to the main hall.

She snapped into action realizing that. If they came they'd find out. She could hear it now, the mutterings that 'that's what they should have done years ago.'

The mob would start to take over; their voices would grow louder, clearer.

These were those society would never accept. Always outcasts. It was why they'd remained in Terminal City, why they could only leave for darkened tunnels…

She couldn't allow them to find out, not like this. It would mean the end of them, maybe of all of them.

"Good, blow them all up, that's what I've been saying all along," Mole said still chomped down on his stogie.

"Yea and you think you won't be next," she asked with a quick nod. "They think it's us, they'll take us out."

"Let 'em try," he dared.

Alec chuckled and leaned back crossing his arms, "They're not gonna come after you the old-fashioned way."

"Nukes, chemicals," Max shrugged and played it off as if she was unaffected, "they'll take out half of Seattle or hell, half of Washington, pollute the ocean, just to 'stop the threat,' our country's not exactly known for its kindness."

She watched him grind the cigar with his teeth, amazed he didn't snap it in half.

"You guys can try running, but it's not like you can blend in with the rest of society," Alec poured salt in the wound. Mole had to be stopped and he had to be on their side once everyone else started to find out. These were people who had spent their whole lives following orders, they'd simply found a new person to follow and unfortunately for them all, that person had become Mole.

The cigar twisted in his teeth, "Do what you have to do," she started seeing bits of tobacco scatter out onto his teeth. "Dammit," he turned and with one quick movement tossed it across the room and into a waste bin.

-o-o-o-

"X6-639," Zen's voice greeted her on the phone.

"No name?" she asked.

"Kid I talked to said they hadn't seen him since that night, apparently he got separated from his unit quickly."

"Who'd you talk to?"

"Archer, lived over in the-"

"Yea I remember him, any clues as to who his mystery companion might be?"

"Assuming it's someone from his unit, I got all the names of everyone blonde. Two kids been MIA since Manticore, an X6-675 and an X6-721."

"Not like that does us any good," she scoffed.

"Yea well I got Archer heading over to TC right now, Logan's sending over the program, we'll get an idea of who we're looking for if it is one of them."

"What about those who made it to TC? No one's saying he couldn't have met up with them again later," she asked as she paced in the small room she'd retreated to upon hearing his ring, away from the prying ears of those Alec was trying to calm the nerves of. At the moment they appeared to think something bad had happened to 639 like it had happened to Biggs.

"I've got an Aram, a Perry and a Nelson. I'm pretty sure I know Perry and Aram, but not enough to make any judgments on them."

"Same here, I'm sure I've met them all, but they haven't made any lasting impression. Can you-"

"Get their addresses and the names of anyone else from their unit? Already did it. Meeting up with a few people, going to divide up the list we've got and split up, see if anyone knows anything or anyone's address Archer didn't know. Figured we shouldn't go in alone, in case their waiting for us."

"Smart move," she wondered if she'd been thinking enough to realize she should have ordered that. In fact just sending Zen and Vida off on their own hadn't been her smartest move. "Call when you've got anything."

"Will do," he promised.

-o-o-o-

"You need to go," Max came storming into Logan's house.

"What the-" Logan looked up and quickly stood.

"We don't know what they want, we don't know what they're going to do. You and Cale need to go," she turned around and started heading for the stairs to pack for their son.

"Max," Logan said quickly following tugging on a pair of gloves.

He caught up in front of Cale's door; he tugged her back and pulled her into his room. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"We don't know who they're working with, could be someone from inside TC. Everyone there, hell everyone from Manticore knows who I am. Too many transgenics know about this place for you to be safe. They know I'm after them, they'll go after who I care about," her look was deadly as she gazed into his eyes.

He would have fought once…Not anymore. There were more important things at stake.

"I'll dump the drive, can you pack?"

-o-o-o-

Odd to realize how many things you realized were vitally necessary to life with an almost four year old as you rushed to pack. Favorite toys, favorite outfits, they were stuffed and loaded into the car in no time.

Exo quickly donned in case of a sector check as Max simply carried the entire tower from Logan's hidden room to the car instead of trying to transfer and dump it in record time.

Food vital to the health of a picky eater thrown into bags.

Logan tossed as much clothing as he could grab in less than two minutes into a weekender.

"What's going on?" Cale murmured as his mother scooped him up blankets and all as his father snatched the pillow from underneath and the cat that had fallen to the side of the bed.

"We're going on a little adventure," she quickly moved down the stairs leaving Logan to trail.

"Wherewegoin?" his sleepy voice asked.

"Gonna go stay at a new house for a few days, you and Daddy, maybe Zen and Vida will come to visit, maybe Alec, I bet I could talk him into bringing over that racing game you like so much," her voice was as calm as it could be with the threat of something happening to the two males she loved more than anything else in the world.

Logan quickly dumped the stuff into the backseat as he moved about the car to double check Max's previous findings of no tracking devices or explosives.

"But I'm supposed to be with you tomorrow," his disappointed voice questioned.

"I'm just going to have to come to you then," she smiled as she strapped him in to the car seat. "Even Aunt Cyn's gonna come."

"Hey." Logan said turning and handing off the small cat, "you hang on to Cat and Mommy's going to meet us at the new house okay."

He looked puzzled.

"I'll be right behind you guys," she kissed the top of his head. Stepping away to shut the door on her son's questioning face and scan the area for anything out of the ordinary that had occurred as she said goodbye to her son.

-o-o-o-

Logan was the kind of guy who was good at escape and evading and throwing off a tail, she'd never fully gotten from him how he was, but it didn't change the fact that he was.

Still though, she followed him behind him and clued him in on the times she was sure they weren't being followed and gave less noticeable hints when she wasn't sure.

Logan's excuse to the checkpoint guards they passed carried back to her ears, "Pipe burst, flooded out the basement and the babysitter didn't notice…Took out the furnace in the process. Figured we should spend the night over at a friend's."

The cops were still muttering about him as she pulled up and they like normal checked her out. 'Damn yuppy,' they were saying, 'his fuckin car's nicer than my place.'

_Yea right,_ she smirked to herself, _was there a single checkpoint cop that wasn't on the take?_ Everyone bribing their way into different parts, on the take from drug dealers to the everyday citizen that just wanted to escape. Then again Matt seemed to be the only cop she'd ever met not on the take, of course he paired that with the illegal activities that aided Eyes Only.

_Even the noble had to be corrupt in this town. _

-o-o-o-

Original Cindy was cursing up a storm as she walked in twenty minutes after they did to the safe house south of his old place. Cale already tucked into the bed he'd be sharing with Logan.

"Not a single word," she said raising a finger to Max, a green mask on her face only half scrubbed off, her hair wrapped earlier than normal to keep it away from the gunk.

"She's acting like I didn't let her throw on clothes," Alec said walking in full of attitude.

Cindy turned and glared, a pair of jeans were tossed on instead of the boxer shorts she'd been wearing. Sneakers with no socks…

"Rifled through all of my things," she glared.

"You were taking too long," his eyes looked up innocently.

Max suppressed a chuckle; she could almost see the smoke fuming out of her friend's ears.

"Oh and this one," Alec turns and points a finger at her, "runs back to the apartment after we've left because she forgot a steak."

"Prime rib," she said holding it closely to her, "I could take on you and Max for this baby."

Logan chuckled, "I'll take that," he reached out to grab it, "Max grabbed some ice and a bunch of frozen foods before we left my place, it should keep until the fridge starts to cool."

-o-o-o-

"Find this bad guy Boo," OC said as she quickly hugged Max as she was going to leave as Zen and Vida arrived their part of the list being handed off to others so Max and Alec could leave worry free to resume their end of the hunt. "So I can kick your ass worry free for doing this to me."

Max smiled, "Will do. Watch my little guy will ya," she gave a quick nod.

Original Cindy smiled gently, "I'll watch both of your guys Boo."

Max nodded quickly as she was instantly re-hit with the pain of finding that ring.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she hastily replied

"Nothing?" Cindy coaxed.

"Nothing that won't keep," she gave a watery smile. "Just watch them for me," she nodded.

"You got it."

"Hey Logan," Max said walking towards the back door where she'd left her bike, "you got everything you need?"

He looked up mid-setting up what he could of his computer as he adapted it to his laptop. "For now," he nodded. Cassia had already been heading over to his place with Kera to grab anything of value or anything further linking them to the house, leaving a slew of people still out in the field tracking down the households and hangouts of that unit to start.

"You got my list," Cindy asked as Alec stood to rejoin Max.

"Yea," he said pulling it out, "pants, who the hell puts pants on here."

"My leather ones," Original Cindy said turning to Max, "don't even think about returning here without them."

"I won't," she promised.

-o-o-o-

Next afternoon,  TerminalCity

"I've got some good news and I've got some bad news," Alec said walking over to Max.

She just looked at him rather dejectedly, "I don't suppose I can just hear the good news…." She'd just made the most important people in her life miserable. Cindy was going stir crazy after less than a day, Cale had cried when he found out he wasn't going to school and Logan, well he was being intelligent enough to keep his mouth shut.

They had people watching his house and her apartment; no one had shown up so far. They'd tailed a suspicious looking car away from Logan's but had lost it because of a checkpoint.

Maybe that wasn't so surprising though, after all they did have the same training as everyone else. They'd known the others would be lying in wait. So maybe they'd adverted at least one crisis. Max just didn't want to hear about anymore.

"Good news it is Perry and Aram's alibis check out."

"What about Nelson?"

"Zen said he packed up a few months ago with a few others and headed south in search of better weather….Can you believe they didn't like all this wonderful gray?"

"Alec," she sighed.

"What I thought you didn't want the bad news?" he chuckled.

She just looked at him through weary eyes; every possible lead they'd turned up had turned out to be a dead end.

"Well I've got some more good news; his friends say he's more Zen than Mole. Guy honestly did just seem to want good weather and girls in bikinis," Alec grinned, "actually maybe he's more like me than Zen."

"Do I want to know what the bad news is?" she asked.

"Well, we've canceled out three of five possible suspects, assuming that is, he is working with someone from his unit and it's not just a dye job."

She glared.

"We only know for a fact that that 721, made it out of Manticore alive," that information had been provided by a Nomilie that had seen him in the woods. "No idea what happened to X6-675, no idea where either of them could be."

"Have I told you today that I really dislike you?"

"Aww Maxie," he flung a hand over his heart, "that hurts, it really does."

She sighed.

"How's Logan doing?"

_What did he know? _ She thought startled.

"He turn up anything yet?"

_Oh_. "Nothing's that turned up anything. He's reaching out for defected members, trying to find groups they might have come in contact with…"

"Basically it's all been a whole lot of nothing all day," Jeff said walking up to them.

She looked up as he extended a foil wrapped burger.

"Eat this."

She took it without much enthusiasm.

"Maybe you should go crash for a few hours," Alec said upon seeing her unnatural disinterest at the greasy sandwich.

"That's what I've been telling her," Jeff chimed in with.

"You know what, last time I checked neither of you were my mother."

"Yea well let's pretend I am, so I can say, 'I'm really not liking your attitude lately missy,' I mean seriously Max what the fuck crawled up your ass and died," Alec snapped back with the intensity she'd been giving everyone lately.

Jeff looked interested in hearing the answer to that as well since she'd been hot and cold to him since this started either as artificially sweet as she could be or a full blown bitch.

"I'm just fuckin sick of this," she tossed the burger onto a table, "I'm fuckin sick of all this. I just want a god damn normal life!"

Alec looked at her coolly, "Well then maybe you shouldn't have let us out Max."

"Ask me if-" she paused and stopped herself. She didn't wish that, honestly she didn't, she wouldn't have Cale, she wouldn't have the majority of her friends, but she would have HIM. Him and maybe a chance at a normal life_. Didn't they get that?_ Didn't they get how much she had lost while they had gained so much? They didn't care, they didn't appreciate it, they just wanted more. They took until there was nothing left.

She spun on a heel and left.

-o-o-o-

She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried like this, maybe it had been for her brother, maybe it had been never.

She sat atop the Needle as the sun was starting to set and she cried.

Cried so hard she ended up gasping for air on a few occasions.

The tears that had started off slowly and in a steady stream ended leaving her with a blinding headache and a nausea that made her think she'd never eat again. She was too weak to cry anymore.

She climbed back in through the busted windows and curled up beneath it.

There was just nothing left to her.

* * *

Hmmm…Well I don't think that was the chapter I was asked for, for New Year's. _Sorry?_

**Happy New Year folks!**

And woohoo Senorita DLH, you like another one of my stories…I always feel extra special when an MA-er doesn't despise my story.


	79. The Past is Only the Past

* * *

**As always the note on why I hate the chapter (please notice that I did say I, I get to hate things, you don't have to agree with me…People are critical of their own things it's allowed :-P ): **

Yea the end of this story is just not working for me. It's choppy, the characters are working for me and I think I may have screwed up my next chapter with this one (that last one always happens).

Aside from that, I hope you enjoy (hey it's at least a story and ML which seems to be rare lately. Posting has seriously declined by all. :-(

Oh and I think I lied, I don't think I'm making my year deadline. It'll be close to it though.

Maggieanne: computer troubles around your bday and the holidays that's just not fair (then again mine decided to go bust like the day before Christmas). Happy New Year to you as well and you can have another Happy Birthday as well (though I did leave you a happy birthday note over at DAR).

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Nine **

The Past is Only the Past

* * *

It was late by the time she woke up.

Her head still pounding, her body achy from the position she'd fallen asleep in.

She caught sight of her reflection in a discarded piece of metal as she stood.

Frightening was an understatement. Her skin was blotchy, her eyes were red and puffy, her hair a tangled mess.

Apparently her quick recovery time applied only to being shot and not sobbing her eyes out for hours.

-o-o-o-

She slipped into a bar and fixed her appearance as best she could with a lot of cold water before finding her way to the safe house.

Another time.

Another place.

The scene had been the same though, his actions. _Intently focused on finding the latest bad guy. _

Could have been that time, but it wasn't.

That time was gone.

Their past wasn't part of their future.

Not like it could have been.

_No more tears, _she ordered herself.

"Anything new?" her voice was low, husky almost from the layers stripped from it crying.

His head jerked up and he stared at her for a moment before he spoke and she wondered by his expression if he could see what she had gone through, what she still was.

He didn't though.

"Where the hell have you been?"

_What the fuck? _

"You left your cell phone and your pager at Terminal City," he said standing.

"I needed some air," she defended.

"You needed some air for nine hours?" he questioned.

"I had a lot on my mind," her voice was even stronger this time.

"Join the club Max, but you see while you had a lot on your _mind, _I had a three year old who couldn't understand why his mother not only didn't show up when she promised to, but didn't call and didn't pick up any of the times he tried to call her."

Her heart took a plunge; she'd forgotten how she promised to come over.

"Thirty seconds Max. You needed to pick up a phone and dial and that's it. Let him hear your voice and say you're sorry. That was all you needed to do."

"He had you and Cindy," she pointed out.

"And Alec and Cassia, but none of us are you."

She couldn't remember the last time he'd been this mad at her. It had been another life. She drew power from that, "Well I'm sorry. I lost track of time, thought you could actually manage your own son for an evening, but apparently I was wrong. I'll do my best to make sure it never happens again," attitude dripped from her voice, just like that young girl she'd once been, the girl that didn't get hurt.

He scoffed and gave a quick shake of his head. "I cannot believe…" his voice trailed off and he shook his head in disbelief. "You know Max," he began, "you're not responsible for them anymore. They've been out for three years-"

"I let them out though Logan, that's never going to change." He had no idea the double meaning her words held. She was responsible for everything.

His gave another look of 'you've got to be kidding me' as he held in a sigh. "Go wake up Cale and Cindy, they probably think you're dead at this point."

_Being dead doesn't hurt this much, _she thought as she turned and headed towards the bedrooms.

-o-o-o-

Cale's eyes held a momentary surprise and joy that was uncommon to waking him up in the dead of the night. It didn't stay long, just a quick glimmer before it settled into a pout. "Where were you?"

"Good question boo," Original Cindy said with her eyes opening.

Max's eyes shot over to her friend quickly before returning to her son. "Fell asleep and lost track of the time." A hand brushed over her son's soft locks, "I'm sorry," she apologized as her eyes looked deep into his.

"You okay?"

She was at a complete loss hearing that come from her son, her mouth just opened a bit. "Yea," she nodded after a moment, "I'm fine. I'm sorry I was so late." A finger this time along his cheek as the rest of her hand cupped his face, "It's late, you should go back to bed."

He began to open his mouth, "But-"

"I'll see you tomorrow, I promise," she nodded and leaned down to kiss the top of his head and pull his sheets back up. "Goodnight?"

"Night," he answered confused.

"Night Max," OC nodded.

"Night," she said disappearing out of the room.

-o-o-o-

Max didn't even bother putting on a smile walking into the living room to see Logan and Cassia with their heads close in discussion over something…._Blueprints, layouts, _at least that's what it looked like to her.

"Got something," she asked.

Max wanted to punch the other female's lights out upon seeing her look up along with Logan. She was smart…clever, she knew how to appear innocent in Logan's eyes. Her expression was nothing out of the ordinary, but Max could see the smirk in her eyes.

"They hit a Wyoming power plant about four hours ago," Logan replied once more in control of his emotions.

_Seems I'm not the only one reverting back to my old self, _she thought along with the shock. _ Seriously every time she tried to take a few hours for herself… _

"Cops on the-"

"Cops?" she cut off Logan, "you called the cops into this?" _Seriously what the fuck was wrong with his head lately! These were her peeps, she'd take care of them. Did he not get what a fragile balance there was that existed between the transgenisc and everyone else. This would be the thing to send the whole house of cards tumbling down. _

She watched his carefully held emotions and watched the temper flare behind those now fierce green eyes. "Max this is not a little problem, we mess this up hundreds of innocent people could die in the first round."

First round…Ordinaries attacked first, retaliation upon the transgenics, then they'd strike back…The cycle could keep going as long as there were more lives to lose.

"They have the three sketches, they don't know who they are, there are stations across the city where we have people listening to their frequency, if they're spotted or anything happens they can be there in a matter of minutes. We don't even know if they're going to strike here Max."

"Anything new on the group?"

"Nothing aside from their apparent superiority complex." The Compatriots apparently thought Americans were not only a superior nation, but they wanted a return to the old ways….The power they'd once had and they wanted it immediately.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" her voice softened for that, no matter how hard she tried she couldn't find any answers to any of her problems.

"Wait," Logan answered with a sigh and a shrug, "keep doing what we're doing, but I think it's up to them to show us their hand."

-o-o-o-

"Well look who decided to finally grace us with her presence," Alec greeted Max upon her arrival at TC almost two hours later in the dead of night. She'd planned to just stay at Logan's but found the tension to great within her to allow that, so she'd ditched her bike and just taken the sewers in.

"Don't start," was all she said as she walked over to Alec and Josh sitting on an old mustard yellow couch watching infomercials.

"Where little fella been?"

"Out thinking, then over at Logan's," she settled herself on the arm of the couch, there was still plenty of room left on the couch itself, but Joshua's personal hygiene hadn't improved much (and didn't need to) while living in TC. Then again she thought, sniffing down at herself, maybe she was getting a little fresh too after curling up amongst the debris at the Needle.

Alec sniffed over, "Yea you are smelling kinda ripe," and moved back. "I told you to shower this morning."

_Seriously she wasn't that bad. _She rolled her eyes.

"Space Needle?" he asked his eyes still trained on the tv.

"Just pop it in and watch it shake," Josh said with a loud guffaw after.

Max smiled at him and the infomercial catchphrase.

"So I don't suppose you came up with any ideas while you were up there?" Alec asked.

"Well added a few things to my 'to do list,' like move to Mexico."

Josh looked over for that with a worried face.

"Don't worry Big Fella, I'm just kidding."

"Good. How would Joshua get Little Debbies?"

"Hey I bring you them," Alec turned looking appalled.

"She gets the good ones…" his head vigorously. Then shaking his head "And Rita's…Too small, entire box disappears before Joshua can even get one."

Alec and Max both laughed at that, Rita always brought dainty little French pastries that were attacked by all her artists within minutes….no actually more like seconds.

She continued to sit there with them as they both called out the catchphrase every couple of minutes.

"Come on Maxie," Alec said sliding over a bit move and patting the seat next to him as he stretched his feet out on the coffee table. "Not like any of us are going to bed tonight."

She sighed and slid down next to him.

Not at all shockingly after so much time together Alec and Josh brought her, her first sense of peace in two days.

-o-o-o-

Early Evening: 

"Hey look I'm sorry about yesterday," she said as she walked up behind Jeff who had an engine apart on the table in front of him.

"Don't bother Max, it's fine," he answered not looking up.

"I knew you'd understand," good old trustworthy stable Jeff.

He looked up briefly before his head turned back, "It's about Logan, it's always about Logan. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Her mouth opened.

He turned, "Don't bother to deny it Max; I've known you too long. I also know when you stop saying his name it means something is normally up."

_She'd say his name if it wasn't like sticking a knife in her heart. _

"I give up Max," he shook his head and his attention turned back to the parts before him, "I really thought it wouldn't bother me. Turns out I was wrong. I can't be the third wheel in this relationship anymore."

"You're not-"

He turned again, "Maxie, they didn't make us dumb."

"Aren't we happy together?" her voice was almost trembling. If he left what else did she have? Who else was hers to love alone? _Who was this pathetic person she'd become? _

"I was. You wanted to be. You couldn't let yourself though," he nodded and focused again on his task. It had been leading to this for weeks, that tiny nagging voice that kept telling him to cut his losses became a full-fledged scream that followed him constantly.

"So that's it? We're just over?" she was outraged as she reeled from the shock of being rejected at the same time she was losing Logan for good.

He turned again, "Don't do this," he shook his head, "I'm doing the best thing I can for both of us."

"You just dumped me for no good reason," _how the fuck was that in her best interest? _

"No Max, I'm walking away because you're still in love with your ex and you're always going to be in love with your ex. I feel your pain Max, I really do. I get that you can't be with him, but don't ask me to just stand by and watch you constantly chasing after him."

"I don't-"

"Yea you do," he nodded. "You both do, you always have, you always will. Logan's girlfriend might be able to handle it, but I'm not going to, not anymore."

-o-o-o-

Time kept passing and everyone was preoccupied with trying to juggle the crisis at hand and their everyday life.

They continued to seek out every possibility. The most likely targets were staked out and people took shifts based upon their jobs.

Max and Original Cindy were the only ones who stopped going to theirs. Logan missed two days before telling Max he needed to return while he still had a job, she conceded on that fact and spent her days bumming with OC and Cale either at the safe house or Terminal City where Max managed to avoid most of Cindy's 'what's wrong' questions.

Gem kept Normal from losing it completely and firing them and everyone picked up their slack instead of being slackers like normal.

It was like living in limbo. They had no answers and there was nothing concrete they could do. Nothing to do but wait, so wait they did.

She hated waiting. Waiting meant plenty of time to think and reflect. An hour in her present state would have been too much…a week…A week seemed like an eternity in hell. A hell in which she had to be appear fine to all.

-o-o-o-

"Do you remember that day?" she asked as she joined Logan on the roof for some air.

He smirked, "Those would be hard days to forget."

She laughed, "I don't know, they all seem like one big blur once we got back here and then there was this…" she looked up at it. No longer the original, but it didn't feel any different.

He chuckled looking up at it with her, "I remember there were a few moments I thought my hand was going to lose circulation you were squeezing it so tight."

A slightly sheepish look, "A nation of freaks was a lot for a girl to take on."

He laughed again.

"I also knew that I was losing you," she tacked on and he silenced. She could feel him stiffen even though he was over a foot away. "All of my hope just left…It just disappeared.," She could see him out of the corner of her eye, that same look of guilt as his eyes betrayed that his lips didn't know whether to move or not. "Guess it would make sense that I would cling a little harder than normal. I didn't want to let you go," _I still don't. _

"Good thing you don't ever actually have to," he added trying to lighten the mood, though his posture still gave away his unease.

She shook her head and with a more Max like tone rolled her eyes and said, "You know what I mean."

An unsure smile crossed his face.

"We're still friends aren't we Logan?"

Pure shock was his reaction to that, "Max-" he began.

"You said that day in the sewers," there had been many days in the sewers, "the first day in the sewers; we were friends above everything else. Is that still true?" the words came out quickly, not too desperately, just quickly as she ripped off the bandage.

"Of course it's true," he turned and looked at her, "how can you even ask that?"

She turned away, "I don't know. Just feels like we lost it. Like we're exes, Cale's parents-"

He turned her back and she watched the change that had occurred in his eyes, that hesitation, the desire he'd had to just bolt from the rooftop was gone. Left in its place was the man who couldn't bear to see her hurt, not even for a second, "We're friends Max. I don't want you to ever doubt that for a second. I know things have been…weird," he frowned at his choice of a word and then shook it off, "we were trying to find a new balance Max. If it's not working, then we'll find a new one."

"No it's-"

He cut her off, "I still want to be the first person you come to when you have a problem, the person you think of when something funny happens and you can't wait to tell. I'm sorry if it seems like I don't, I do."

"Lo-"

He would have none of her interrupting him, "Everything I do, everything I've done is to try and keep this going. It's not perfect, I know that. Nothing in this situation can be, but I'm trying Max. Everyday, I'm trying. I don't want you to ever doubt that," his hands moved to cup her face and look deep into the now glossy eyes, she noticed his own held a slight shimmer. A moment of silence passed between them as they simply stared at each other. "Do you know what I was thinking when they raised the flag?" He paused for a second, "I realized you weren't going anywhere, we weren't going anywhere…" another pause, "I didn't need to be scared. You were still there, I could let go and you would still be there. We are **never** going to lose each other," a hand reached up and brushed her cheek, "I won't allow it. I promise you."

She shrugged and nodded before giving him an apologetic little smile, "This must be one of those girl things everyone's always talking about. I guess I just needed to hear it again."

He smiled, "I'll try to-"

They were cut off by the simultaneous ringing of their phones, they both frowned as their eyes shifted down and their hands went to them.


	80. The Moments That Change Your Life

** AN: Warning this is VERY long. **(That also means there are a lot of boo boos bc I don't want to read it again to fix them...Sorry :-\ )

* * *

**Chapter Eighty **

_The Moments That Change Your Life _

* * *

The moments that came after those calls were the heart pounding kind. 

He was left trailing behind her. Within seconds he could no longer even see her despite the fact that he'd taken to wearing the exo as a precaution. If life came in flashes the first flash would have been how her eyes widened as her mouth remained slightly open. The sight of the door swung open so quickly it should have come off the hinges. The sounds of her feet ahead of his own on the stairs, feather light as they barely touched the ground.

The flash of the young man with shaggy brown hair and a beard to hide his now known face. The body covered in khakis and a gray long sleeved shirt, blood darkening a corner by his shoulder, hands cuffed behind him to the steel chair.

More than a handful of guns trained on him, daring him to even think about moving.

The look in his eyes was unrepentant, cold, uncaring of the consequences of his actions, he showed no fear just as he'd been trained his entire life.

Alec had apparently taken the lead in interrogating him leaving Max to talk to Mole, who occasionally came out with bursts of indignant, "He's never going to talk, might as well let me finish the job," as his rifle remaining trained on him.

Vida whispering in Logan's ear, "Gem and Dalton took everyone home with them," as they continued to watch the play by play. Alec's attempt at a kind ear, while showing all the forcefulness of their instructors.

It became clearer to Logan than it ever had before that Max was no longer their leader.

He'd once thought that Mole had been slowly taking over her role, but now he realized that was wrong as well as he watched Max and Dix attempt to diffuse Mole and the situation, all while trying to egg the perp on with fear.

There were no true leaders anymore. They were a community of individuals now. All of them putting in their two cents. They were no longer soldiers looking for anyone to follow.

The Manticore influence in them was both painfully obvious in this moment as was their departure from it.

Logan realized with a mixture of interest and fear as he realized their 'perp' was cracking as anger started to appear behind his eyes. Their main threat had been eliminated. The weapon confiscated as the other man fell and taken away to be diffused. The fear however was still present as they waited for the 'why' to be revealed.

"And you fuckin wonder why anyone would want to take you out?" the young man spit out as Mole grabbed back his gun from Dix. "You're fuckin monsters."

It was amazing how a room that had suddenly seemed quiet before aside from a few individuals grew deathly still as if all air had been sucked out.

"What did you say?" Alec asked turning around in shock as he'd been pacing, the only one of the group who could actually get away with asking such a question.

"How are you defending them?" Light blue eyes looked up questioning. "They'll destroy this country. We were made for one specific reason to defend this country and you're protecting its biggest threat."

"Yea well you know…free will and all that crap," Alec was as always comical even with the darkened serious mood. He turned back to once more look at 639, "So you're one of those self-haters or what?"

The younger man's temper flared, "I'm not one of them."

"Wanna bet?"

"We are the next step in the evolutionary ladder, **they** are no better than Neanderthals. They have to be stopped before they turn this into a nation of freaks. It's within our grasp to return this nation to what it once was, we can't do it if they're polluting our gene pool."

There was a cough, "Can anyone say Hitler?"

Logan looked over in time to catch Zen saying it with his hand covering his mouth.

The X6 looked over with a serious face, his devotion clear, "Yea but this isn't something our country would go to war over," a quick nod, "at least not on your side." His eyes turned back to Mole, "That was a few countries before, this is an entire world."

"Let me-" Mole began and went to charge at him only to be thrown back by Max.

The young man's voice grew, "Manticore was self-centered. They didn't think about the threat to the rest of the world only their needs when they allowed you to live."

"Live?" a Nomilie questioned, "you called what they let us do live?" He shook his head, "Locked in cages without food or water for days, let out only when they needed us?"

"People treat their dogs better," someone tacked on.

"Shouldn't that have told you about your worth?" he asked.

"Where's the rest of your group?" Logan asked walking into the center of the ring that had formed.

The young man suspiciously viewed him up and down, trying to figure out how he fit into this equation.

"Hey," Max called out, "the man asked you a question. I suggest you start speaking."

"You," 639 said looking over at her with distain, "you of all people protecting Manticore."

"I'm not protecting Manticore, I'm protecting people."

"They're not people," he retorted.

"They're my family," Max adamantly retorted.

"They're freaks!"

"Yea well so am I…So are you!"

"We're the future."

"So is that what your little Nazi groups been telling you?"

"We were perfectly content to let them live," his head shook, "we foolishly assumed Manticore would have taken the proper safeguards."

"Safe-"

"Sterilized them," his eyes once more an eerie calm.

Another wave of all air being sucked out of the room.

Logan, Max, Alec, Vida and Zen all had the same thought flash through their mind, one they'd never really allowed to settle before now. There were no babies aside from those belonging to the X5s and a few X6's. No one had ever broached the subject with them before and it had never mattered to them because it hadn't affected _their_ lives. _Talk about self-centered. _

"They can procreate with humans. I've seen the results; it's not something we can allow to happen."

"Where?" Logan was the only one to speak, the only who wasn't too shocked to respond. _He would have heard about that _was the only thing he could think of though…News like that always seemed to trickle back to him. Sebastian, someone would have heard about it and told him.

"There have been a few incidences. Last one was in Indiana about two months ago."

"How do you know this?"

"I just do," the young man said firmly and Logan didn't doubt him. Stupid was the last thing any Manticore pupil was.

"What happened to the baby?"

"Government took him," another quick answer.

"To do what with him?" Logan found himself asking a little more heatedly due to his role as a father.

"I don't think either of us want to know the answer to that," for the first time Logan saw compassion in the young man's eyes. Like Max, like the rest of them he'd suffered through more atrocities than he cared to remember as a child and he'd been one of many instead of just a few. Those that did live faced a lifetime of hell. He almost hoped the government acted rashly and euthanized them to dissect them rather than study in any other fashion.

"The Compatriots are all about the advancement of the species?" Alec asked after another moment of dead silence, hoping for more answers and clues.

"To make the US the most powerful nation again."

"How do you know that once they use you to get rid of them they aren't just going to off you? Aren't all these groups just about purity…I mean let's face it…You aren't exactly _normal._"

"We're about advancement. The world has always been about change. You can't adapt, you can't survive. Within a few generations, the nation as a whole will be smarter, faster and stronger." He looked up with an incredulous smile, "You didn't really think they created us to just be soldiers did you? That was only step one. They always planned more for us." He laughed, "Granted they probably didn't expect it to happen this way…Do you know the blood that ran through the president's daughter after her accident?" He looked amused by the shock in their eyes. "The stroke President Durin had in '09?"

Logan had heard rumors about that, seen what he'd assumed were copies of forged medical records…According to them the guy should have lived out the rest of his life as a vegetable, but instead returned to office within two months.

"It was supposed to have been a gradual integration of our genes into the population."

_Tweaking_. That word suddenly came to mind as he remembered the world pre-pulse. The mainstream science of fertility was starting to expand beyond healthy v. unhealthy, boy v. girl. There had been debates, but it had all just been science fiction; no one was ever going to actual do the things novels were written about.

He hadn't learned for years that they actually had…

This all probably would have been funny if he didn't know what was going on he realized some time later. The loudest, most opinionated individuals he'd ever met had been quickly reduced to silence.

It was a silence that would return frequently throughout the night.

ooOoo

She wondered if it was possible for her brain to explode through her skull as she sat forward with her head in her hands on the closed toilet of the safe house's cramped bathroom.

The little red pills appeared to be failing in their job as it continued to throb despite the massage at her temples in the darkened cool room.

She could still see everyone's faces. Josh's especially as it had all gone down.

Seen the wondering in those who could pass for normal. Wondering if the other guy wasn't so far off. She knew the guy was right in at least one aspect, it was an opinion that would be shared by the majority of their country and possibly even transgenics.

Her own brain had hinted at it…All she'd ever wanted was to be normal. She knew how hard it was when you weren't. That was nothing compared to what they faced. The look on Joshua's face had killed that vague whisper of agreement in her head however.

She'd looked around and seen the toughening of the men as their 'masculinity' was being called into question when that realization of there weren't any kids in TC was said aloud probably for the first time ever though she realized it had been thought of for long before. _She saw the old Logan in them. _

It had gone on for awhile. Back and forth questioning and statements. A larger crowd continued to form until Logan finally pointed out that maybe they should do something before he bled out and he couldn't tell them anymore.

Mole had followed as they'd hoisted the kid to his feet.

And he was just that. A kid. Seventeen tops. A kid that would live, but she didn't know how long.

He'd gotten into it with Mole again as they'd been in the large previously empty room that made up their infirmary. The kid who wasn't able to walk on his own and was struggling to remain conscious continued to hold his own against the 'mayor' of their fair city.

Mole had finally lost his temper after a few dinosaur and the ice age cracks that she could have seen coming out of Alec if they had been said with any type of humor. Zen and Vida had each taken hold of Mole's upper arms and physically lifted him out of the room.

_"See man," the kid had said to Alec as his head started to drop back with sleep, "I told you. Gotta keep that out of the gene pool." _

_"I hate to break it to you kid, but have you actually looked around here?" he asked as Cassia continued to patch him up, the bullet having gone clean through and already clotting on its own. _

_Blue eyes reopened for that. _

_"No kids." _

_Puzzlement. _

_"That's why you do recon before a mission." _

_"But the…" his head shook, "there are-" _

_Alec cut him off, "None of theirs. You guys might have been right in your first assumption." _

There was a level of guilt in her that she couldn't explain from that brief moment of relief from when she'd realized that same thing. It had been followed by indignation and pain for what they were going through. Manticore was still continuing to fuck more than just her over.

She might just be part of a large group who had the right to have a family taken away from them.

Still though, that breath of relief. Because this wasn't the type of life you'd wish on anyone…

Another divide had taken place in the city. Logan went with her as Alec, Cassia and Vida stayed with the kid, Rob, Robbie, such an unassuming name….

_"He lost a lot of blood, but my guess is he'll live," Cassia said as she finished taping up the bandages. _

_"For how long?" the kid had asked with weary eyes. _

_"Well 639 that's not really up to us since we weren't the ones you were trying to take out." _

_"Not take out," he said wincing ever so slightly as Cassia shifted him, "just alter. Disperses chemical agents," a slight nod, "and the name's Rob." _

They found all the visitors to TC in one of the rec rooms. A larger crowd than normal because of the threat, a few more had even turned up than earlier having gotten calls that they could stop monitoring the police frequencies.

_"So what kind of chemical were they going to use?" Zen asked walking over to them having not returned once escorting Mole out of the room. _

_He and Max both froze. _

_"Oh man don't tell me they cooked up something perfectly targeted at transgenics, if they could come up with it, who's to say-" _

_Logan shook his head, "They wouldn't have needed the device for that." _

_Zen's voice lowered, "Okay you guys are starting to scare me. Just tell me what it was." _

_Max shook her head and walked away. _

_Logan__ let out a mixture of a groan and a sigh as Zen's eyes followed her for a moment before coming back to him. "Sterilize them….A chemical castration. We don't know what it was exactly; he passed out before he could tell us anything else." _

_"Oh man," Zen's normally calm eyes widened. _

_It was a view spread across the room as the women suddenly crossed their legs if they could and the men tried to contain the urge to protect themselves down there, some out rightly failed. _

_"So if Tanner hadn't spotted the kid, we'd all be…" his voice trailed off as his face held a horrified expression. Manticore's soldiers had become human. _

_Max rolled her eyes and walked back over, "You were less freaked out when you thought you should have died." _

_"It's a whole different level Max," Zen told her turning confirming her suspicion that all men really were as screwed in the head as she thought them to be. _

That's when the whispers had started around the room. Nothing that she really heard or paid attention to, still distracted by her own thoughts. She'd left the room with Logan and Zen. The guys heading towards the computers as she headed to try to stem off any type of payback the others were coming up with.

They hadn't gathered though, they splintered off. All of them going off to lick their wounds in private.

_"Hey Big Fella," she knocked on his cracked door as she pushed it open. _

_"Hey Little Fella," he nodded but didn't pause in his painting, a dark swirl of black, grays and blues. _

_"Kinda melancholy isn't it?" she asked with a nod towards the painting, "We stopped the threat at least for now." And they had, the device had offered a controlled spread of the pathogen, anything else they would risk exposing the ordinaries, which she doubted they do, at least not so quickly. _

_"They still hate us," he said as the brush once more connected with the canvas. _

_"They don't understand Josh; people are scared of things they don't understand." _

He hadn't said much after that, he just continued painting and giving short responses to her questions before she finally caught on and left the room.

_"We need to figure out if we want to put a message out there to them again," Logan said as Max approached him and Zen as they sat facing the screens. _

_"We've got time, they aren't going to make another move soon," she said sighing wearily as she leaned against the rails. _

_"Yea and they're not going to come looking for him, we were only trained to keep bargaining chips, they think the kid's dead by now." _

_"Great world we live in," Logan replied with a shake. _

Yea great world indeed, she'd realized that when she walked back into the rec room.

_"Hey look, I'm not saying I would have done it, but you've got to admit it makes things easier," Tanner, X-5 who'd stopped the kid was saying as she walked into the room, but then quickly silenced realizing it was her. _

_"What makes things easier?" she asked harshly. _

_"Don't look at me like that Max. You know you were thinking the same thing. The kid had a point, it's going to be hell on us for the next couple of years, but eventually we'll fade from being a threat. Kids are born without barcodes and can blend it and if we mix, we just end up with really smart kids right? That's what they were researching at Manticore before the place got shut down." _

_She hadn't known they'd known that much…that they'd known about Tinga and Case. _

_ "They're always going to be outsiders Max. Outsiders with a really big chip on their shoulders. If they grow in population over the generations," he shook his head. "Max they're not the kind of enemy to have and the rest of the country, hell the rest of the world is never going to accept them. It would have only have ended badly." _

_"And this isn't badly?" she quickly asked. _

_"Hey like I said it's not something I would have done," he quickly pointed out. _

_"We don't even know if they did it," a redheaded X6 female pointed out. "I mean they didn't know what they were doing when they started this." _

_"Like a mule," the brunette next to her pointed out. "Occasionally they're fertile." _

_"Or it could just be they got better with each new group," the red head shrugged. "Let's face it, they just shoved whatever they could together and hoped for the best." _

_"Point is what's done is done," Tanner said with a shrug. "I say we let the kid go, I'll go with him. Make sure these guys know they don't need to bother them anymore." _

_"You want to go with him so you can join?" someone asked from across the room. _

_"The kid's just a kid and he was doing exactly what we were trained to do our entire lives and that's protect this country. They are the biggest threat this country's seen since the Pulse." _

_"I can't believe you're saying that man," another person said with a shake of his head. _

_"Don't deny you didn't think it," the person next to him quickly said with a pointed look. _

_"This is our family," he quickly defended. _

_"Look does it really matter?" Kera, the blond X5 asked. "What's done is done. We can't do anything to change it and we didn't do anything to cause it. We can keep them safe from the Compatriots though. Mole's never going to let the kid go. I say we have Logan send out a message, I'm sure eventually it'll get back to them." _

_"So you're just going to let them kill the kid?" _

_"It's not our place," Kera quickly said though the thought of what Mole might do to him turned her stomach as well. If we're the ones to let him go," her head nodded, "they listen to Mole. I don't know why, but they do. It'll look like we turned on them if we do anything." _

_"Oh," Tanner with a quick turn away and his head buried in his hands, "you've got to be kidding me." His hands quickly fell and he turned to scan the crowd. "Who's from his unit?" More looking as he figured it out, "Kristy? Rocky?" _

_The two individuals quickly looked away. _

_"Max," he turned back and just looked at her. _

_"We're getting ahead of ourselves," she gave a quick nod. "Nothing's happening tonight. I think we should probably give them some time to cool down. Mole's not going to listen to anything we have to say tonight…None of them are." _

"Hey Max?" Logan knocked on the door snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yea?"

"You okay?" he asked opening the door letting the light flood in from the hallway.

"What would you have done if I was going to the bathroom?" she asked looking over with amused eyes.

"The light was off," he pointed out.

She just continued to look at him.

He laughed, "Give me a break it's been a while since I've lived with an adult transgenic."

She smiled. _And you never will again, _she realized, _at least not until Cale's a teenager. _

"You okay?" he once more asked.

She nodded.

"You know you can talk to me right?" he asked leaning against the doorway worried at seeing her so utterly defeated.

Another nod.

He didn't move.

"It's just so hard on them," she replied with a tilted head and twisted herself so she was still looking at him, but now resting her head against the tilted walls.

"I know, but it's still a better life than what they had."

"Before they didn't know what they were missing," her voice was soft as she looked at him framed by the light as she remained as always in the dark.

"They can also see how much they gained though."

_One cage for another… _

She just sighed and turned her head away.

"Come on," he said with a nod back, "get some sleep. We can pick up Cale in three hours," he said looking at his watch.

_Once more back to real life… _

_This is really starting to get tiresome, _she thought standing.

ooOoo

It had taken Logan a whopping total of three days to revert back to how he'd been.

That tiny nagging little feeling returned to her every time they talked.

_It wasn't winning though,_ she thought as she rode the elevator up to Logan's job.

_Empty desk, _she thought with a sigh and with the computer off she was guessing he wasn't somewhere else in the office.

"Max right?"

Max turned to be greeted by the warm smile of Gabby, the coworker she'd met last time. "Gabby," she nodded.

"I think you just missed Logan. Probably lunch," she nodded.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"Probably at 'Tello's, it's two buildings-"

"Yea I just walked past it."

"If he's not there I'm sure he has his cell."

Another smile and nod from Max as she said thanks.

ooOoo

Past the red and white checkered half curtain covering the bottom of the window she could see him. Her eyes had immediately gone searching him out as she walked towards the door. She stopped though just shy of it as she peered in.

Kerry was with him. Laughing as she sniffed her nose oddly as a waiter with a tray walked by. Logan had a more refined chuckle as he watched her versus the giggle and shake of her head that followed. Some more words were said as she smiled lifting her water up. He was smiling too as he followed her actions shaking his head as he took a ship of his water, still holding it he continued to talk and laugh.

That was it, she realized as she swallowed hard and turned away from, that was it. They had won.

ooOoo

"Hey," his voice greeted her on the phone. "Gabby told me you stopped by."

"Uh yea, I was in the neighborhood and it was lunch time, I must have just missed you."

"Sorry…Anything important?"

"No just lunch."

"Well, I'm sorry I missed you."

"Yea well I'll see you tomorrow," she said quickly.

ooOoo

"I'm sorry I missed you yesterday," Logan apologized again as the he scooped the carrots up from the cutting board with his knife tossing them in the pan.

"I would have called, but I didn't know I was going to be in the area," she lied sitting up the stools next to their son.

"Where were you?" Alec asked walking into the kitchen swiping a few goldfish out of the bowl in front of Cale holding off his hunger until dinner.

"Hey," Cale said swiping out, but missing Alec's hands.

"What, you got like twenty others?" he said as he threw another one in his mouth.

Cale glared across the room as Alec laughed again and pulled his bowl in closer.

"Stealing from a 3 year old, real nice Alec," Max admonished with an eyes roll.

"Three 'n' a quarter," Cale automatically corrected.

"Yea really Max, don't know your kid's own age," he acted appalled. "Hey Logan," another fish thrown in, "so does this mean you're what 34 and five sixth's? Should we just start rounding up to 40 now?" he turned and asked Max.

"Haha," Logan responded dryly.

"I'm just busting your chops man, you almost got in a few good blows the other day when you were sparing with Zen."

"Yea did I mention how much I appreciated how much I enjoyed having you all around while I was getting my a-" he froze.

"While you were being Spekkio-ed," Alec supplied.

Cale laughed.

"You were what?"

"Alec got some old video game," Logan supplied.

"Hey it's new to me and who's the champ Cale?"

"Zen?" the little boy looked up with innocent blue eyes that suddenly twinkled.

"Haha, that's my boy," Max said ruffling his hair which rewarded her with an annoyed look.

"Yea, see if I bring it over again Cale," Alec threatened.

ooOoo

"Here we go," Max said softly lifting the little boy up into her arms as Alec continued to search the paper for any new leads on a bike after his took an unfortunate fall off the side of a garage as he and Ze inefficiently calculated the probabilities as they'd been goading each other. He'd managed to come out of the situation without a scratch, his bike though….

Logan's attention had long been preoccupied with Eyes Only stuff then again, it attention seemed to focus on anything but her.

He continued to have moments where it seemed he was about to tell her something, but then froze and quickly turned away.

_Guilt she knew it all too well._

The cat in her got the better of her after tucking the barely stirring Cale into bed. Into Logan's room she went.

She paused in the doorway and stared at the bed wondering how often the other woman had slept there.

Slept in the bed where she'd slept. Granted all she'd ever done was sleep, but still…

Her fingers silently slid open the drawer. Lifted up the corner she'd found it in before, under the neatly folded boxers.

She frowned and before she knew it the stack of boxers had been lifted up between her hands.

Nothing.

She shook them and made sure there was nothing hiding in them before tossing them down on the bed.

Socks started to tumble in the drawer.

Still nothing.

She just froze and stared at the empty spot of wall ahead of her.

She moved quickly tossing everything back in.

_Only slightly disheveled,_ she thought blinking quickly and slamming it shut.

Her feet slid over the steps as she rushed downstairs.

She froze as she turned to head back into the living room.

"You've got to tell Max," she heard Alec's voice.

"I will when I get an answer," Logan's voice responded slightly ticked off as if this conversation had been going on for awhile.

"Oh yea," Alec laughed, "that's going to go over well. Just get it over with Logan."

"Get what over with?" she asked walking into the room.

"Uh," Logan suddenly shot forward in his desk chair.

"Logan?" she asked again.

His eyes closed briefly in blessed relief as Alec's cell started to ring.

"Why don't I just take this in the other room," Alec said raising it up, "let you two talk," he smiled at Logan.

"Gee thanks Alec," Logan called out as he started to walk away.

"What do you have to get over?" she repeated.

"Uh," he exhaled again, "the thing is Max."

"Okay never mind, I lied," Alec said rushing back into the room. "TC now, Robbie's escaped. I think Josh let him go. I'll hop on your bike with you Max."

"He what?" her head spun in shock.

"Josh was watching him and now he's gone," he said sliding his arms into his coat.

ooOoo

"We lost Mole about twenty minutes ago," was the greeting they received by Swift, a possibly squirrel influenced transgenic, Max had never been able to figure it out and was too embarrassed to ask.

"What do you mean you lost Mole?" Max barked.

He didn't flinch, "We turned around and the guy was gone. He and Joshua got into it for a bit and then he just disappeared…We've looked everywhere."

"So you mean he's out in the city?"

"Yea I hope that kid got enough of a head start, he doesn't have a chance if Mole catches up to him."

"Shit," Max cursed. "Alec can you-"

"Gimme your keys," he said with an outstretched hand. "Can you call Zen?"

Keys were passed and Max was once more thankful that Logan had offered to stop by and pick up Cale from her place after work so she could stop by TC afterwards with more ease than her car provided.

A knock on his door as she pushed it open.

"Hey Max," Luna's voice greeted Max first.

Followed by, "Little Fella."

_Really gotta remember to knock, _she thought to herself and smiled, "Hey."

"Isn't tonight date night?" he asked as he stopped in his perpetual movements around his place.

"It's family night and it was until I found out we had an escapee and rumor has it you were watching him."

He shrugged, "We were painting."

"What were you painting?" she asked.

"Happy little clouds," he smiled and nodded vigorously.

Max laughed, his recent infatuation with the very deceased public television painter. Only Josh or then again maybe it was Rita could create such a stir about them. His showing had sold out in the first night. _Nostalgia or something like that._

"He liked Cale's painting," a large hand flung back to point at the rather blurry interpretation of Joshua and Cale standing next to each other. Next to each other and a large purple elephant. _Creativity that kid did not lack. _"Said it showed promise."

"So is that all you guys talked about?"

He shook his head, "His girlfriend, I told him about Luna, he told me about his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend have a name?"

He ignored her, "Nice kid, he understands now. He isn't scared. Just wanted to go home. He didn't want to die." He turned, "Wasn't going to let Mole hurt him."

"You've got to watch out for Mole," she cautioned.

"Joshua fine. Robbie was the one in danger."

"Josh," she began again.

"Luna's here," he quickly flung a hand back to gesture at her, "I'm fine. Go back to Logan."

"Cale's already asleep, I can stay."

Joshua gave her a teenage boy look and head bob towards Luna who was reclining on the couch.

"Oh, okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow then," she nodded.

ooOoo

"You smell," Original Cindy said as Max walked into their apartment and past the kitchen where she'd been making a sandwich before she lost her appetite.

"Sewers, gave my ride to Alec to try and track down Mole."

"Couldn't leave out the gates like a normal person?" she asked closing up the peanut butter jar.

"Japanese tourists have taken to circling the place."

"At this time?" OC looked over at the clock.

"Better safe than sorry," she shrugged and stopped herself just shy of flopping onto the couch.

"Well for future reference, I'm a big fan of a little unsafe and a lot un-smelly."

Max let out a short laugh. She shrugged, "Needed some time to think."

"You've needed a lot of that lately. What's up Boo?"

"Just life….You know it gets to you. Josh let Robbie escape."

"The guy that tried to uh…you know," she waved a hand down low.

"That would be the one. Didn't want Mole to hurt him."

"That boy's too nice for his own good. Now explain how you been for the past two weeks."

"Just stuff," she sighed and shook her head. "I'm gonna shower and crash."

"Max?" she called out after her.

She turned, "Not now OC."

"It's never freakin now," she muttered low under her breath as she ran a finger along the knife to clean up the remaining smear of peanut butter. Still sucking her finger she shook her head and wondered what the hell could be wrong with the girl now.

ooOoo

Friday Morning (2 days later): 

Max had yet to figure out if she liked it when OC stayed out all night. On the one hand it was great because things seemed to be slightly less chaotic as the three of them bumbled around the apartment attempting to get ready. On the other an almost four year wasn't exactly the world's best conversationalist.

At least at the moment he was talking about where he was going to stay tonight instead of Mr. Hoppers the classroom bunny. He was confused, as was Max since Logan had called her from work saying he wouldn't be able to get off in time and asked her if she could get him. One hour had turned into two, two into three.

He finally stopped by just before eight, with just a half hour before their son's bedtime remaining. Exhausted and drained and he explained he wasn't done for the night. He had to go meet one of his contacts at ten and he didn't know when his night was going to end. So it had just been a quick kiss on his son's head and a wave of his hand and dismal as Max tried to offer food.

"Your dad's going to pick you up after school," she said as she cleared away their breakfast dishes.

"Good-"

"Hey," she turned with mock outrage as she moved to get the ringing cell off the counter. "Hey Big Fella," she smiled into the phone.

"Lil' Fella, Max gotta get down here right now," his excited voice said into the phone.

"What's wrong?" she instantly panicked that Mole had decided to seek revenge against her friend.

"No time, just come down now!"

ooOoo

With Cale perched on her hip despite his repeated demands to walk she ran into the main hall of Terminal City to be greeted by Joshua who grabbed her hand and started running. Dragging her along as her other arm tightened around Cale.

"What's wrong?" she cried out as she was pulled, but didn't bother pulling back assuming that he had a good reason for this. "Josh, where are we go going?" she asked continuing to be pulled down halls and up stairs.

"Gonna see, gonna see," was all he said despite her repeated calls of his name.

"What the?" she asked as the door flung open. The lab they'd used to find the cure to the 'shroud of death.'

Next thing she knew a stunned Cale was ripped out of her arms as she was shoved in.

"Got her, told you I'd get her," he said to the middle aged balding man in the white lab coat.

"And that you did Josh, my you got here quick," he said looking down at his watch.

"Yea great I'm here, why am I here and who the hell are you?"

"Max n' Logan," Joshua nodded and smiled. "Getting," he looked down at Cale and then back up at Max, "you know," he nodded at her.

"Wait you're a…" she simply stared at the doctor, "you think you can cure the virus?" _What a weird dream was she in. _

"Can and did," he nodded. "I didn't expect you here so quickly otherwise I would have prepared the injection."

She stared at him stunned as she watched glass vials being moved around as Joshua continued to bounce next to her as Cale looked up with 'what the hell's wrong with you' eyes.

"I'll still be in medical journals a hundred years from now with this. This is science's at least forty beyond what the mainstream is doing."

"You cured it?" she continued to look dumbstruck. Things like this didn't just happen overnight.

"Took many trials but I finally worked out the exact formula. Resistant little buggers," he said tapping any air bubbles out of the needle. "Four months of my life," he said holding up the syringe, "all within here. Amazing how minute things can be the most difficult."

"Four months?" she repeated his words, but walked over to him as he gestured.

"I suppose you don't actually need the alcohol," he said as he prepped her arm, "but call me old fashioned."

Footsteps moving down the hall, he walked into the room just as the needle slid into her arm guided by the unknown person, her mind too vacant, yet overwhelmed...she had no idea to question.

Bags and lines marred his beautiful eyes, stunned eyes. She wondered if he'd even gotten to sleep yet.

"Ah Logan, I was just about to tell Max that this should be through her system in about five and a half hours, better make it six just to be on the safe side."

Green and brown continued to stare in shock at each other.

"Such a pretty little thing, hard to image you'd have something so nasty in you," he said applying a bandage.

She turned and looked at him.

"No need to thank me," he boastfully smiled.

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

"Ah, sorry Dr. Laurette," he extended a hand.

She looked down at it for a moment before realizing she was supposed to shake it. "How do you know it's cured?" she asked.

"Young lady, I spent 2 months simply with my notes before I moved into the lab with my theories. Trust me, it's cured."

She continued to look at him.

"Fine," he sighed, "I still have some slides with your blood on them."

"How do you-"

"Between Shankar and here," Logan supplied.

Shankar continued to study the virus, especially because of the repeat exposures and had requested new samples from both of them after the last exposure as had the science geeks here who continued to try to figure it out.

"Look down," the doctor ordered as he stepped away from the microscope, ""I'm sure this will look familiar."

Into the microscope_…Yup nothing new there. _

"Now," suddenly her field of vision was flooded. "Of course you have no where near this much in you, which is why it takes a few hours. Don't worry my calculations are correct; I spent half the night with them double checking."

She blinked to see if what she was seeing was actually real. It was being devoured it seemed.

"The virus is absorbed and then excreted, everything should break down completely in a matter of a week, but it won't be of any threat to Mr. Cale."

_Mr. Cale right, _she looked at him. Completely and utterly stunned, he'd barely spoken.

"Let me down," Cale finally had enough of simply squirming against Joshua since it was futile.

The kid slid down to the floor.

_How had he behaved for so long? _ She wondered until her eye caught sight of the clock, they had entered Terminal City less than ten minutes ago.

She looked back at Logan.

"Max, I-"

"Four months?" she asked.

"He," Logan raised a hand at the doctor.

"You know what Cale's going to be late for school. We gotta blaze. Say bye to Daddy and Josh," she said scooping their son into her arms suddenly fuming.

He didn't speak just looked annoyed with his mother for yet again treating him like a rag doll.

"No Max," Logan shook his head.

"Whatever Logan, doesn't matter. Go home burn the gloves, like I said late."

"Max," he said turning his eyes staying connected with his son's confused blue as Max kept hers diverted and quickly made her way out of the room.

"Why isn't Max happy?" Joshua asked the stunned Logan who was too confused to chase after her.

"I don't know," he honestly answered.

"Aren't you and Max supposed to be getting busy now?"

He turned and looked at his large friend with a peculiar look before shaking his head. "I need to catch up to Max," he finally said and turned to leave.

"Uh hum….Mr. Cale," Dr. Laurette called out after him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What? Oh," he nodded and patted his pocket trying to remember where he'd shoved his wallet with the single waiting check, "right."

ooOoo

"Girlie girl is going to rip the end of the table off if she tries that again," she said watching the six ball slam into the end of the table.

"Girlie girl gets to if she wants to tonight," she fiercely replied as she lined up her next shot. She'd been missing more than a few, the anger getting in the way of everything else.

"What the hell happened now?" she asked leaning on her cue, "Tried to get it out of Logan while he was waiting for you, but the boy wouldn't give it up."

"Hmm yea," another angry shot, "that seems like Logan."

Logan had stopped by Jam Pony and waited for her for a half an hour earlier that morning. She knew he couldn't wait all day because of the deadline for his story, so she'd simply waited him out. That and ignored all of her pages and calls. She even skipped going home after work. All she could remember was the look of that ring. How comfortable and happy Logan had seemed with Kerry the other day. How perfect they looked in the pictures tucked into his top drawer at work.

"Speak of the devil," Original Cindy said with a nod.

Max turned.

"So, this guy walks into the bar and says…" Logan said approaching them.

"Ooh that's my cue to split" Original Cindy said taking off for the bar.

"Where's Cale?" her voice hard

"He's with Joshua but that's not the line. We didn't get to finish our conversation."

"I'm sorry I thought we did."

"We didn't and you haven't returned a single page or call."

"What's left to say Logan?"

"Marry me," he said stepping in closer, "Don't ever run from me like this again."

* * *

**More An:**

Okay so it's past midnight. My deadline did not happen. :-( (I blame stupid little computer games that distract me every single time I'm on this thing).

I wrote a little more for this last part, but I didn't really like it so I've decided to leave it there.

This is the last real chapter of this story. I'm assuming people want an epilogue though (or then again you could just be sick of this story and go 'No thank you, this is quite enough').

I'm going to put a big old complaint/explanation for these last few chapters after the epilogue so I won't force you to see it twice (but trust me they're coming). :-P

Oh and honestly not cure the virus? Who really fell for that one:-P

**Thanks for reading! **


	81. Epilogue Pt1

**Okay so as I've stated a million times writing the end of this is giving me issues because I want to write it present day with flashbacks. That being said I have no idea when I'm ever going to finish this epilogue, so I'm going to post in bits, it'll probably make writing it easier because I won't keep going back looking at the old stuff and maybe it'll even be less confusing to you guys this way. If the writing style (back and forth) becomes annoying or unclear drop a line saying so -pretty please :-D- and I'll do my best to fix and change the style with the next chapter. Thanks for reading! This chapter starts about a year and a half after we last saw Max and Logan. **

**Oh and thanks for all the GREAT reviews with the last chapter. I'm glad to know my epic pleased a few of you. Thanks for sticking by me in my 100,000+ word endeavor. :-P **

* * *

**Chapter Eight-One **

_Epilogue Pt.1 _

* * *

**2026, Max and Logan's Anniversary: **

He loved the sound of feet rushing towards him before he even opened the door.

Loved the cry of 'Daddy' or 'Dad' that would always greet him.

He relished it even more because he didn't know how much longer it was going to last.

The hugs that followed that involved lifting the growing little boy into the air and were usually paired with a kiss to his hair.

Hugs and kisses had been banned this year at school as had the use of 'Mommy' or 'Daddy.'

Max would occasionally cajole a hug out of him when she dropped him off, but she seemed to treat it more as a sign of adoring respect and would allow her son to be a 'little man.' And her face would grow so serious sometimes that both of the men in her life would end up laughing.

So this was the time he cherished just slightly more than the others. Coming home to Max and Cale.

"Mom's bribing the baby," however was his greeting today instead of 'Daddy.'

_Uh oh, that wasn't good.  
_

"Okay," he said lowering his son to the ground. "You finish your homework?"

"While ago"

"Okay well then why then why don't you watch tv for a few while I check on your mom."

He didn't move, but instead looked up unsatisfied and entirely unpleased with that answer, "I'm hungry."

_Ah that explains it,_ he thought as his nose took in that extra scent floating through their house. "Grab a cookie," he replied before her turned. "One cookie," he emphasized with his foot on the first step.

-o-o-o-

She was lying with her cheek resting on the peach colored tiles.

"Hey rumor has it you're trying to bribe the kid into being good," he said stopping in the doorway.

"We're up to an in-ground heated swimming pool," she reported dryly.

"Yea well if the kid hasn't taken you up on the pony, the '63 Sting Ray and you doing his homework for the rest of his life, I don't think I have to worry about him taking you up on the offer."

She groaned and curled up a little.

He walked towards her, squatting down beside her, stroking her cheek.

"Never ever feeling guilty about that damn virus ever again," she looked up rather pitifully.

He laughed upon hearing her say that for the first time in weeks, but had certainly heard it frequently before that.

They had com so far…

:Flashback:

"What's wrong?" he asked walking up behind her in their bathroom finding her standing before the sink not moving.

"I'm late," her voice was flat as she imparted the information.

It took a moment for his mind to register what she was talking about, it wasn't until she turned with that tell tale blue case he suddenly understood why she'd been distracted all evening. "How late?" he asked.

"Six days," her mouth remained dropped for few a seconds longer than it should have. That same dumb and vacant stare she'd gotten used to seeing in the mirror since realizing as they'd been preparing dinner.

"How you-" his mind was as frozen as hers.

"I missed pills," her head shook. "Four…with everything going on…" She'd realized that upon looking down at the number of pills she had left. Realizing she should be starting a new pack. Everything had just been so chaotic…From Halloween to New Years…Just over two months and there had been four holidays, two birthdays, two school plays… "So I don't know, maybe that means I'm only two days late?" she looked up from the pack she'd started staring at again, "Does that make it any better?" her face was scrunched to one said asking.

He finally laughed a bit and moved towards her, "Probably not in the way you're thinking," his hands took the case she'd started staring at again away from her.

She looked up with scared eyes.

"Hey this isn't bad news," he said lightly stroking the bottom on her chin with his thumb. "Just a little unexpected and we don't even know if it is news."

She nodded still stunned and pushed away, "I should go out and get on of those pee on a stick and see your futures."

Another low laugh as he stopped her and pulled her back, "You should stay here. You're likely to put your ride into the side of a truck at the moment."

She looked up once more with scared eyes.

"This is a good thing Max," he promised, "it's going to be fine. Cale's downstairs working on his science project-"

"How does coloring count as a science project?" she automatically asked.

"I don't know, but his teacher says it does…" he smiled. "Why don't you go downstairs and help him? I should be back in a half an hour, an hour tops."

She nodded.

-o-o-o-

She paced while he sat on the closed toilet.

"Hey, hey," he said catching her hand, her distractedness made it easy for him to easily pull her into his lap. "Come on, it's going to be fine. Didn't we say we'd talk about having a baby around this time?"

"Talk Logan, not have." They decided in those early days to spend some time on themselves and Cale, the family they already had before adding on to it, at least a year they'd decided.

"Yea well maybe the kid was tired of waiting to be invited," he said placing one large hand across the expanse of her stomach. "We were supposed to have that talk a few months ago."

"We don't know anything about babies," she looked up with a trembling lip.

"Hey Cale didn't turn out too shabby did he?" he asked looking into the watery brown eyes.

"He could talk, he could let us know what he wanted…A baby...they're so helpless Logan."

"We'll figure it out," he promised.

She didn't look much relieved or convinced.

"It's going to be fine," he repeated as his hand went up to her hair.

"Says the guy that gets to stand on the sidelines for the next nine months."

She loved that puff of air slid out of his lips instead of a full laugh, it almost always succeeded in weakening whatever wall she'd put up. Then came the ping and she felt her heart lurch into her throat.

"Am I checking?" he asked quickly squeezing when she didn't move.

She shook her head, despite the fact that she desperately wanted to say yes, "I got it." Without even pausing to take a deep breath she reached past him and to the box he'd hidden on the tank behind him finally after she'd kept poking at it. Her eyes blinked as she went to remove the test from the box. Then she just stared. She finally remembered to look at Logan who was awaiting her with anxious eyes.

"Second life changing event taking place in a bathroom," she followed with the breath she'd been holding in. She turned it and with a stunned shake of her head said, "I'm pregnant."

-o-o-o-

The scene of that second life changing event had become what appeared to be Max's domicile for the following nine months. That following morning they finally started to talk about it aside from the stunned, "I'm pregnants" and "We're having a baby" that had passed their lips the night before in sheer shock and awed reverence to the fact. Plans started to be made, calls to doctors were promised, discussion of how Cale was going to take it, wondering if he should move into Alec's old room and the one of across from the master bedroom, should be the nursery. They started to discuss her job….She begrudgingly agreed that in a few months it would have to be left behind. Smiled and said at least it was more time to spend with Joshua, at which point Logan pointed out that a toxic environment and developing mind and body didn't seem like a good mix. Her smile had fallen as she'd started to realize everything that could go wrong. Children between transgenics and ordinaries weren't a guaranteed thing, while they hadn't seemed to miscarry at a higher rate than their counterparts they seemed to be at a lower frequency. Reminding her that the good old folks at Manticore had been pretty shocked by the news of their occurrence in the first place.

She started to freak. It started with the basics of the normal transgenic/ordinaries differences and quickly led to her 'extra special' self. Her junk DNA, what if that did something to screw with their baby…And he turned out with three arms or a tail…Or the baby being born with permanent ruins across his forehead…

No matter what he said or promised he couldn't calm her down. She hid it, but it lingered in the back of her mind during every waking moment.

A doctor's visit had followed two days later. Blood had been drawn, pregnancy had been confirmed by one of the few doctors that had actually handled a transgenic pregnancy before. Her eyes had widened as they filled her in on everything they'd been through. Options for genetic testing were discussed. Max had scoffed at that, _as if they'd have any idea what they were looking for. _

The doctor however had been dutifully gathering data for the time when things like this became public and widespread. "We'll compare it to that and see what we're working with."

She'd sent them on their way with a smile and a "Try to take it easy and not worry."

Max had scoffed at that too. The woman was obviously not a mother. After five years Max was aware she now worried better than she did anything else, which was saying a lot.

It was three days after that. Amongst varying plans kept between only Logan and herself as she refused to tell anyone else in case things went south (as that nagging feeling in her gut told her they would) that their son decided to start making his presence known. Less than a week before the only sign of him had been a handful of missed pills and two clear lines on an indicator. Seemingly overnight he had overtaken her life.

The smell of French Toast cooking had sent her rushing to the half-bath on the main floor.

The next day Normal had sent her home by noon. He'd ignored her repeated guarantees of being fine and called Logan to come pick her up.

Tuesday she wasn't stupid enough to leave the couch and hadn't even lifted her head to kiss her son goodbye, instead forcing him down to her level.

By Friday Logan had had enough and scooped her and a plastic bag into his arms and loaded her into the Aztek after a week of exhaustion, nausea that was seemingly impossible to avoid and a few incidences of swaying that seemed to be inches away from fainting.

The doctor had once more smiled sympathetically, but informed them following every test she could perform and an examination that she was just in for a rough first trimester, but decided that maybe they'd be better suited with a doctor more accustomed with difficult pregnancies considering Max's extra unique makeup and set up an appointment with a high-risk OB/GYN and had once more shuffled them out of her office with annoying advice. Stay hydrated, don't let your stomach get empty, try to figure out if there were any certain smells/foods that caused it and then avoid them, move slowly and stay in bed a little longer. Max had almost thrown the plastic container of cotton balls at her.

That was around the time Max had moved into her new domicile. The peach bathroom that they'd commented for over a year that they needed to update. Knock into the other room and install a bathtub that would not only fit Logan while not scrunched up, but Max as well. A separate shower that wasn't a challenge to clean and water actually stayed inside of and of course the main reason. Non-Peach.

He started to realize the first time he'd found Max using the scrunched up bathmat as a pillow and asked him to toss down a towel to use as a blanket because there was no way her body was moving from its perfectly flat position, that he as soon as the baby was here would be making a call to 'The Royal Flush' as five transgenics had named their plumbing company. He was also going to be reminding them that he knew their secret and that there was absolutely no reason to work at their normal snail's pace to 'throw off suspicion.'

_It was either that or come home one day to Max and a sledgehammer. _

The secret Max had wanted to keep came out quickly. Gem and Original Cindy had invaded the first afternoon after Max had given up trying to even get up and instead told Logan to call Normal and tell him she quit. No witty remarks, no clever coverups, no bashing that she had been saving up for years. No…She'd said the words quickly and without much feeling aside from feeling sorry for herself and closed her eyes before he'd even left her side.

Cale had followed later that evening as he whined about 'Mommy being sick _again_.' They realized afterwards that they'd probably confused the kid up for life as they told him, 'Mommy was trying to get him a little brother or sister.' They figured they'd explain in better detail once they were actually sure he would get a little brother or sister.

Alec had found out the hard way about their pregnancy. A hand had clasped over Max's forearm as he went to ask her what was wrong as she went to dash out of the room. He'd gone flying back into a bookcase as she'd continued on her way.

_You couldn't really notice the crack running down its center unless you were looking. _

:Present Day:

All of that had led to this. What he had started to hope was an uncommon occurrence since she'd finally at least taken the reigns of her nausea after she'd passed the first trimester they'd sworn it would end at, but of course it hadn't.

"Feel like moving this to the bedroom?" he asked after careful consideration. Always nervously attempting to judge her mood before he asked, sometimes he was successful, others…well…

"Isn't that how I got into this situation in the first place?"

He smiled at the common joke passed between them. "Yea well that never seems to stop you from letting me do the laundry," he said as he bent down to gather her up in his arm. Funny how creative and desperate you could get living with a six year old with highly sensitized hearing. He thanked god for television, video games and a dislike of folding clothing. He and Max had become old pros quickly at the art of quickies and interesting positions. It was highly unlikely their second son had been created in the bed he was depositing her on, tugging up a loose blanket before settling in with her tucked into his arms.

_His second son,_ he smiled and a hand splayed out across her rounded stomach, more emphasized by her sudden weight loss from her 'round the clock' sickness.

"Should have been admiring your handiwork a half hour ago," Max replied dryly.

"Speaking of which, what were you thinking?" he said referring to the smell of cooking ground beef, a common no no according to Max's stomach.

"I was thinking I should be able to make dinner for one son without my other throwing a fit," she replied once more annoyed with how limited she now was, "seriously. I'm sneezing and this kid is coming out."

More comments he was used to, her repeated references to the shortest labor on the books after what he was putting her through with just pregnancy. Then he felt her hand slide over parts of his and knew she was silently promising the youngest Cale that she'd be sick for everyday of the rest of her life as long as he was okay.

"You couldn't just wait for me or make him something different?"

"Promised Cale a Sloppy Joe…I thought I was fine." She'd survived the frying eggs this past weekend, had been next to Cale eating a burger while they were out, hell a whole sea of different foods. She thought she was past it.

"Max," he smiled, "we've had this discussion before. You have no power in this situation. Hell if Cale's any indication, we aren't going to have anything resembling control for at least three years."

"Real reassuring Logan," she replied dryly. She'd like to see just how relaxed he'd be when someone was screwing with his body. Sometimes it felt like the kid had her under house arrest. Controlling what she ate, where she went…And the kid was only in-utero, he was going to be an _interesting_ teenager, she was sure of it.

"I'm still hungry," Cale called up the stairs.

"Six years, seven years…" his head shook in defeat, "we're kicking them out when they turn eighteen."

She laughed, "I think us bailing is the only chance we've got."

"So," his eyebrows wiggled up, "you, me, a Mexican beach in 18 years, 4 and a half months?"

"It's a plan," she smiled, "go down there before he breaks out the stepstool and starts cooking."

"Get some rest," he said kissing her temple.


	82. Epilogue Pt2

**Twenty years and a hundred chapters folks? Man my friends already hate me enough as I hide away in my room with my laptop. Don't want them to despise me. :-P **

** Thanks for reading folks. :-D **

* * *

**Chapter 82 **

_Epilogue-Pt.2 _

* * *

The door closed behind Logan as he attempted drown out the ruckus their son was sure to create now that he had attention again. She smiled to herself as her spare hand went up to clutch her pillow. She paused halfway and smiled at the sparkling rings on her finger

**:Flashback: **

She lay in bed, her body pressed up against Logan's in a horizontal hug. Her body flush against his oddly comforting chest hair, Jeff had been without and she'd missed it the entire time. Her head against his shoulder as his pressed down against her head, their hands each on each others backs. She lay in bed and replayed what had happened in the past few hours that she'd just seemed to speed past.

_If a drink had been in her hand or the cue when he said, 'Marry me' they'd probably be curled up in a hospital bed instead from the anger that had rushed through her in that moment. Anger and then dismay and then more pain. She'd asked about Kerry and wasn't he marrying her. _

_He'd said they were over, you tended to have problems in relationships when you were in love with another. _

_She hadn't fallen into his arms immediately a few more jabs at him as she tried to cover up the pain. _

_'I couldn't go through it again,' he'd whispered as he stepped in closer to her and stroked her cheek causing her to slightly jerk, her body completely torn and confused as to how to respond. 'I couldn't watch you hurt like that again Max. I couldn't be the one to ever hurt you like that again.' _

_'And what's this?' she asked through eyes that had started to become watery. She'd done more than just hurt today, it had felt as if he'd ripped out her heart and stomped on it repeatedly. _

_'I couldn't let myself believe that it would turn out this way,' his fingers moved again against the soft skin, 'I couldn't take it again.' _

_'You're touching me,' she'd said as her lips twitched up the action causing a few of those tears to fall. _

_'I know,' he smiled and let out a short laugh and his fingers moved to flick away those tears, his own eyes glassy. _

_She laughed and he took the opportunity to step in even closer and lifted her head up to kiss her. _

_She was vaguely aware of some hoots and hollers, but they hadn't stuck around long enough to find out who was responsible for them. _

_Logan had smiled, actually more of a grin, very pleased grin, 'What do you say we get out of here?' _

_She had no comeback line for that aside from a nod as she continued with her smile of disbelief. _

_'Don't worry Boo, I'll take care of your ride,' Original Cindy had said catching them as they weaved their way through the crowd. _

_She'd frowned and pouted realizing she'd forgotten all about her baby parked outside, she went to pat her pockets to hand over the keys and frowned down. Where was her jacket? _

_'Still on the chair you left it on,' Cindy laughed. 'You two have fun. I won't leave the light on.' Her roommate was gone forever she'd known that the moment she saw them together. _

_It was due only to the sheer shock of the situation that she remained in her seat on the drive home and didn't straddle him at any red lights. She just kept staring at the entwined fingers. _

_Something had snapped or clicked into place though as they pulled up in front of the house. Separating for those few brief seconds… _

_They'd come together after that. She ended up pinned against the car. _

****

_'We should move this inside,' had actually come from Logan as their hands were trying to divest each other of their clothes and starting to succeed. _

_They just barely made it inside again before she was once more pinned against a door. This time the front door with such a force they were both glad there was no glass in it. _

_They both groaned in annoyance repeatedly that their clothing couldn't just magically disappear not wanting to separate from each other for even the briefest of moments every time they tried to just shove the jeans out of the way. _

_'Bed,' Logan had said as his strong hands had her hips pinned to the door as he was starting to strip her out of her jeans. _

_She looked up with breathy lips as she stopped trying to work around his hands and divulge him of his jeans as well, so far only managing the belt. _

_'We're not christening the house against the door,' he followed up his statement by another long kiss and pulled her close to him. _

She smiled to herself; they'd only made it halfway up the stairs the first time around.

"So I got to point out the obvious," she said twisting her neck around to see him knocking his head away from hers.

He looked at her.

"There's no way in hell Alec and Asha didn't christen the house before us," she smiled.

He chuckled, "I think Zen and Vida beat them to that awhile ago." _Hell he knew it for a fact. _"We do it better though," he smiled and kissed her nose.

"Hmm," she murmured and attempted to snuggle in even closer, "I don't doubt that."

"You know," he begins a few seconds later, "you're going to give me a complex soon if you don't stop bringing Alec up in our bed."

She laughed and tilted up again to see him, "Hey you brought him up last time."

"And that ends the Alec discussion for the evening," he ordered.

She happily sighed and moved her cheek back to his shoulder.

"Didn't you say something about marriage when we were at Crash?" she asked a few minutes later.

"That I did. As soon as possible, I want the entire world to know you're mine."

"Sounds kinda Neanderthal, your dad would be proud. Especially considering I haven't said yes. So is this that whole club the woman over the head and drag her back to your cave?"

He looked down with amused eyes, "You seemed to come willingly from what I recall."

"You just have more persuasive ways than a club," she squirmed into him, "hmm then…" she smiled.

His energy revived and his hands went to slowly tracing her.

"So that ring under your draws," she remained undeterred despite her smile.

He stopped and tilted her head up to him, "You saw that?"

"Think I magically came up with you marrying Kerry on my own?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

She looked up with annoyed eyes, _Like he was one to talk. _

"I would have never married her, never married anyone else, even if there was never a cure. It wouldn't have been fair to them."

"Why did you guys break up?"

"I'd been distracted since Dr. Laurette said he might be able to help."

"Distracted? That's a nice way of putting it, moody and distant might have been my choice."

"I had a lot on my mind," he said tugging her closer, "if it would work, if I should tell you, how to occupy everyday for the rest of lives if it did…"

She let out a quick unexpected gasp of breath as he showed her just one of his many thoughts.

"Like I said there were a lot of things to think about," he replied with a smooth smile.

"Good reason to be broken up with over."

"Can't say I disagree."

"No I meant the fact that you got me dumped," she smirked.

"I knew my dreams were good, but not that good."

She rolled her eyes, "I was apparently a little too worried about you, Jeff got sick of it."

"Hmm, I'd say I'm sorry…"

"Uh huh," Max laughed. "So about that ring?"

He paused in his exploration of her body, "Why were you going through my drawers?"

"I needed socks."

"You remember what I told you about that cat right?"

_Curiosity killed the cat, _how could she forget. "You were wrong, death would have been a welcome relief."

He smiled as he quick moved up to give her a quick peck, "Never say anything like that again."

He hopped away and out of the bed before she ever realized to react.

She rolled over to watch him, _great ass, _she thought not for the first time. The desk drawer quickly opened and shut and he turned back with the little leather black box in his hand.

"Woo," he said quickly sliding back under the covers, "it's cold out there."

"I agree," she smiled and moved in closer, "I'm thinking we need to stay in here until summer."

"I like your way of thinking. Cale might have some issues with it though."

"He too young for boarding school?"

"He isn't, we are…You had issues letting him come to me for the night."

"Says the guy that used to call Josh a half dozen times a day."

"You stay home with the next one and you tell me how easy it is to let them go," he defended.

She grinned, a 'head in the clouds' grin, "There's going to be a next one."

"Rumor has it Cale's too spoiled to remain an only child."

"Maybe we should be discussing what's in that box first?" Max nodded her head towards the forgotten box in Logan's hand.

"This box?" Logan lifted it up, "I thought you already knew what was in this box?"

"Hard to get a clear impression of it since my mind was so clouded with thoughts of castrating you myself," she smiled sweetly.

He winced, "Point taken."

"You were sure enough of the doctor to buy a ring, but not to tell me?"

"I was sure the first time, this time I just let myself take it out and dream."

"You bought it the first time?"

"I had it made," he explained. "Turn around."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm going to spend my next fifty years answering questions aren't I?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of at least seventy, though eighty would be nice."

He smiled and shifted her so she was now spooned into his side. "I really expected to be doing this a couple years ago," he kissed her shoulder.

"Better late than never," she smiled.

"That seems to be our motto," he chuckled.

She felt the ring sliding on to her finger, slightly warmed from being between Logan's fingers.

"I was thinking about slipping it into some food when Zutoni came up with a cure. Let you know about it that way…Of course with how you eat…" he teased.

An elbow came gently into contact with his ribs.

He smiled.

"Back on track Logan."

"Hmm fine," his fingers remained clasped over hers so she couldn't see the ring. "The center stone was my mother's, I had it taken out of her setting because my father who never picked out anything in his life apparently thought the platinum in her rings went with the yellow gold of the locket, which _bothered_ my mother a great deal.

Max smiled.

"Figured I've done enough things to annoy you without adding that onto it on a regular basis."

She laughed.

He lifted up her hand so they could both see the ring.

She had to remember to give OC her props, manicures were a great thing. The short soft blush nails provided the perfect display case.

He traced it with his finger. "Any idea what it means?"

"Past, present, future?" she'd heard of three stones called that before.

"Good, but no. Though we are going to have all three. You and I were falling apart. Purposely drifting away to save our sanity…Then one morning I picked up this little boy who smelled like you. I picked him up every morning and it was like I was hugging you. Then he started to say your name, then I swear he started looking at me with that same slightly peeved look whenever I wasn't exactly complaining with his wishes."

She laughed and blinked out a few tears.

"The middle stone," he traced it, "is Cale. You and I are the outside stones. He was our glue when we were falling apart, when it would have been easier to fall apart. He held us together, he connected us even when we didn't want to be connected. I don't think we'd be here without him."

"I wouldn't want to be here without him," she pointed out.

"Good point," he kissed the top of her head. "So," he asked, "any thoughts now about being branded Mrs. Logan Cale?"

"Maybe you shouldn't say the word brand to someone who already has a barcode on the back of her neck?"

"Hmm," he murmured into her, "I'd take it back, but I'd be lying. I wouldn't be too disappointed if Sandeman didn't make his presence known one more time and ' Logan's' appeared on your forehead."

She held in a bemused laugh.

"Another reason for you to marry me and provide our son with some siblings, only children don't know how to share."

She laughed and twisted within his arms to kiss him.

**:End Flashback: **

She stared at the ring for awhile longer as she listened to the faint sounds of Logan and Cale in the kitchen before slowly falling asleep.


	83. Epilogue Pt3

**AN: Let's not be too proud of me folks for posting quickly, after all I was working on this for well over a month before I started to post. Let me point out though, with every word I write, I keep thinking of another one to write. One mini story in this is leading to another, 80 chapters leaves a lot of loose ends to tie up. :-P **

**Thanks so much for reading guys and the great reviews. I really appreciate and trust me they always make the chapters come faster. **

* * *

**Chapter Eight-Three **

_Epilogue-Pt.3_

* * *

The house was quiet as she woke up with a leisurely stretch. "You behaving now?" she asked as she slowly sat up with a hand on her stomach. Her movements had become much slower than they had in the past. 

She looked down as she stood and checked out the brown kicks still on her feet. She smiled and shook her head remembering how neat and orderly Logan's penthouse had been and here she was put to bed on the light tan bedding, then again she was sure everything in his old place had been dry clean only…_Oh how things had changed. _

A quick peek out the windows informed her night had already started to set and she should probably get back to her day. Shuffle Cale upstairs for a bath since Logan wouldn't have because she was sleeping. Harass Logan for a bit, get some anniversary attention, grab some grub since her stomach was now empty…_Definitely brush teeth first._

**-o-o-o- **

She paused in Cale's doorway, leaning against the door with a wistful smile. The dinosaur sheets had long since been replaced, she wondered how much longer he'd fit into the bulldozer bed Alec and Zen had created for him.

Soon he'd be moved into the bedroom Joshua was creating for him. When given the choice between keeping his old room or the baby having a bigger room, their son had flipped and gone against what they'd expected in what she was guessing was an early case of sibling rivalry; apparently no 'little brother' should have _anything _bigger. He'd tried to score both bedrooms at first, but eventually gave in and settled on only the bigger one.

She smiled thinking of the room just next door that Joshua had invaded earlier in the week to paint and apparently build up depth and texture on the walls as he created a faux brick façade on one wall. She'd gone in to check on the progress while Josh was still there and remind him it was a child's room and didn't need to be quite as dreary as the outside world he was trying to recreate. He'd shuffled her out screaming about paint fumes and the rugrat.

_No one let her do anything anymore. _

She smiled though thinking about the big fella and his peculiar 'big brother' ways.

He continued to thrive. They all seemed to be thriving. Not just the transgenics, but the whole city.

If the topic itself of the transgenics or Terminal City was brought up most still flared with animosity, but they weren't regularly brought up anymore. The news occasionally showed a clip or two of them, but they'd somehow managed to keep themselves well-behaved enough to keep out of the news.

Some of those who'd normally been confined to the walls of TC had taken over nightshifts at construction crews. Significantly lesser pay, even less in the way of benefits for those few companies that actually had benefits (meaning absolutely none).

The companies had tried sneaking around their involvement, never mentioning to anyone about a 'night crew.' According to a few folks down at TC it had taken months for the day workers to raise any questions. Logan had started spouting off about a shoemaker and some elves when he heard; she'd just shrugged and said, 'I'm amazed they're saying anything now.'

They'd picketed at night and shown up tired in the mornings until finally they reached some type of a deal with their employers, who couldn't stand the bad press. Daytime, non-transgenic jobs were safe. Their hours didn't change, just their time on each job site. Projects were finished in almost a third of the time. The city almost actually looked like a real city in parts.

The 'Urban Renewal' series of articles that Logan had written had actually been re-published in just about all the major newspapers across the country. A model of how vastly different individuals could learn to coexist if not work together when presented with a bigger problem.

He was one of a sea of writers who occasionally looked for the good in the transgenics instead of those who still sought to inflame the masses. Nothing too pro-transgenic to ensure scrutiny of the man and his family, just simple facts, basic comparisons, a little something to help.

There were those who sought full and equal rights on a regular basis, those who fought and demanded recognition aside from all branches of the military that promised them a place within them should they ever decide to 'come home' though that hadn't been broadcast for the nation, just them. She had gotten an interesting phone call early this past summer regarding all that…

**:Flashback: **

"Hello?" Cale answered.

"Who's on the phone?" Logan asked walking into the room, expecting a friend since everyone else knew to contact them on their cell phones.

Cale frowned and held the phone out, "Sounds like Mommy?"

Logan quickly took the phone away from Cale and frowned, especially since Max was only in the kitchen. "Hello?"

"I sound like Mommy? Well if that isn't unexpected I don't know what is," Sam leaned against the wall of the payphone so she could see and wave to Nick who was leaning up against the car by the back door to keep an eye on their daughter slumbering in her car seat. _Not trusting her enough to let her go do this on her own, _she gave him a fake smile, _then again did put it off for over a month. _

"Sam, how can I help you?"

"Guessing you guys jumped first and thought about consequences later after you fixed the bitch," she smiled into the phone. _Funny how easily people shared gossip when you shared someone's DNA, _she was pretty sure she knew their entire history from that short time she spent in Terminal City.

"Somehow I don't think that's what you called about," Logan replied dryly.

"Who's calling about what?" Max asked walking up behind him after seeing her son pop his head into the kitchen looking puzzled before throwing a look over his shoulder and heading out again.

"Your not so better half," Logan said removing the phone from his ear.

_Wasn't that him, _she thought with a frown before it started to sink in as she took the phone from him. "Sam," she said her name simply, how did one greet the person with near identical DNA (especially in all the areas that you could see on a regular basis), but that had tried to destroy them?

"Would have thought that would have been Logan's title," Sam eerily joked.

"Who's Sam?" Cale asked tugging on his fathers shorts as Logan sat perched on the arm on the couch watching.

"Nobody," Max said with a hand on her son's back, shuffling him out of the room, "why don't you and Daddy go outside for awhile, the rain stopped."

Cale frowned over his shoulder as his father did the same.

"What do you want?" Max finally asked once the door was shut behind them.

"Thought you forgot I was here."

"Sam," Max's voice was sharp, annoyed with herself for not hanging up in the first place.

"Guessing I already know the answer, but I'll ask for Nick's sake. You planning on coming out?"

"I could ask you the same question," Max pointed out. If one of their faces was ever exposed as transgenic, both of their covers would be blown.

"I'm not that stupid, I don't know about you."

"Don't worry your secret's safe with me," Max replied mockingly. "Anything else lil' sis?"

"Don't fuck this up Max, it's more than just our lives at stake," Sam dropped the phone back into its cradle before walking over to Nick with annoyed eyes. "Anything else your majesty?"

"I'm assuming that means we aren't going to be seeing her on the tv anytime soon picketing the White House for equal rights?"

"She decided to join the Mommy Brigade as well it seems," she said popping down her head for a quick check on their daughter. "If she has any common sense we're in the clear."

"You don't think-" Nick began as she walked around to the driver's side.

"She seemed pretty infatuated with the guy, I'm guessing that goes for the kid as well…Now," she said looking over the roof of the car, "does this mean we can never mention her name again or Seattle or anything Manticore related?" It had taken them a long while to start to heal the hurt and start to get back to where they'd been before that freak had screwed with their lives and blown her secret. Sure honesty was nice and all, but she just wanted things back to how they had been, _with one clear addition_, now snoozing in the back.

"You're in the clear unless Janie starts walking at 6 months," he smiled before opening his door.

**:End Flashback: **

Max wondered about her twin for a moment, wondered about her son, her husband, what she had chosen to do with her new life in Canada. Another career in the paper pushing field? She'd been under for awhile, maybe she had grown used to the inactivity that would drive most transgenics insane.

She pushed aside that though, no point wondering. Thinking about her twin's life when she had her own right here in this very house. She shook her head and pushed away from the door frame. She caught sight of the attic door and stared for a moment…

**:Flashback: **

The sky outside was finally dark, the last lingering bits of light had finally faded settling the street into a quiet peace as everyone once more retreated indoors. Max and Logan were as they normally were once this stage of the night had hit, acting like newlyweds. The tv was turned on to muffle out any noises that might find their way to Cale's room and Logan had been relegated to the bottom of their pile on the couch as Max slowly seduced and ravaged her husband, taking advantage of the time afforded to them by a growing child's need for sleep or maybe in Cale's case it was his ability to sleep, rather than need.

"I'm pretty sure this is considered spousal abuse," he groaned as Max's hand caught his wandering ones and held them prisoner above his head.

"I'd like to see the jury that would find me guilty of that," she smugly smiled.

He groaned and his hips bucked up a little as she refused to release his heads, "Cruel and unusual punishment."

"Your wife making love to you?" she asked sweetly.

"My naked wife holding me prisoner, refusing to allow me to move, yes."

She smiled again and contorted herself downward to nibble, bite and kiss what she pleased.

"I show them that picture from the cabin and they'll understand."

Her head rolled upward for that and she looked at him with un-amused eyes, "No one ever sees that picture," she said referring to the picture he'd taken of her stretched out in front of fire looking up at him with sleepy eyes and a pleased smile in all her glory.

"So would now be a bad time to tell you that's what we sit around and stare at when you have a girl's night out?"

She looked at him with annoyed eyes.

"That and the video of course," he said with a smirk.

"Really think pissing me off is going to help your situation any?" she asked with a smile. "I can keep you like this for awhile."

He looked up with a cocky grin, "I don't think so sweetheart, contrary to popular opinion you're still only human."

She let out a thoughtful murmur.

"So do I get to move yet?" he asked hopefully.

She looked up and pretended to think about it, "Hmmm," she smiled, "nope."

"Figures," he chuckled and let his head fall back a bit. He looked back up with teasing eyes, "I assume you'll let me know when I can?"

"Will do," she smiled and went back to her previous activities of playing his body like a harmonica. Slightly different pressures…locations…all eliciting different sounds from her spouse, her favorite toy ever.

His cell started vibrating on the end table a few minutes later as Logan was biting back the urge to start to beg.

She let out a grunt of displeasure as Logan's eyes rolled back, as if he could see through his skull and the table to the number displayed on his phone. "It's Matt," she said popping up to look.

"I should probably get that," he said trying to move, forgetting how limited his movements were.

"We have a seriously limited amount of play time and you're going to get that smack dab in the middle?"

"Should have let me move," he said with a smirk.

She pouted.

"Matt doesn't generally call unless it's important," he reminded her.

"We're going back to this," she informed as grabbed his phone with her free hand and laughed at him as he eagerly smiled upwards. She let his hands go free as she gave him the phone.

"Hey Matt," Logan said with a smile on his lips as a free hand trailed along his wife's leg as she now reclined back on him waiting. The Eyes Only game had gotten a tad more relaxed in the passing years, slightly less cloak and dagger than it had been. Payphones skipped, scrambled cells now, no numbers stored anywhere aside from their heads, memories erased the moment the call ended.

"Uh," a feminine voice on the other end let out.

He frowned and his hand stopped and tapped Max as he moved to sit up. "Who is this?"

She let out a shaky breath, "Mr. Cale?"

He remained silent.

"Uh…" she took an attempt at a deep breath, "I'm Matt's wife, Marisol."

"What happened?" he asked in a low voice.

"Matt told me to call you if anything ever happened…"

Logan waited for her to continue as Max looked on with worried eyes before moving to grab their clothing.

"Matt was shot they….they don't think he's going to make it."

He accepted the shorts Max held out, "Where is he?"

"Metro," she swallowed hard, "he's in surgery now, but…"

"I'll be there as fast as I can," he promised.

Max waited for Logan to speak as he continued to look dazed. "I have to go, Matt's been shot."

"Do you want me to-"

He shook his head, "Stay with Cale," he kissed her quickly before he went to slide his feet into a pair of sandals nearby. "I'll call you when I know anything."

She nodded.

**-o-o-o- **

Long hours passed as she silently stalked their house waiting for any word. She wondered what he was going through, if he was reliving his shooting, hers…Any of the other numerous ones they'd been forced to endure.

"I forgot to call," he said walking up the steps as she awaited him on the porch, the sun just starting to rise.

"It's okay," she slowly nodded as she waited for him to come to her.

"He's dead," Logan stopped and nodded a few feet away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Me too," he nodded again. "Matt was off duty, they went out for a late dinner. Some kids were roughing up an old man, Matt went to help…"

"How's the guy?"

"He'll be fine, a couple of cracked ribs, but he'll live."

"That's good."

Logan nodded.

"Breakfast or a hug?" she asked as he continued to stand a few feet away, the distance in their minds though thousands.

He gave a short smile, "I'll take them both," he said taking a step forward.

"Hug first?" she questioned with a half scrunched up face.

He smiled gently as he nodded and they moved into each others arms.

**-o-o-o- **

"Matt's son is a teenager now," Logan supplied as he scrambled the eggs on the stove.

"That's the thing about kids, they keep growing up, while I remain my youthful 18," she smiled.

He smirked. "Yet you repeatedly round me up to 40."

She smiled and smirked, "What can I say, some of us are aging with a little more grace than others."

He shook his head with a raised brow.

**-o-o-o- **

"It took us so long to get here," he said sitting beside her on their front steps as Cale rode his bike up and down the sidewalk with a friend. Managing only a few hours of sleep after she'd finally sent him upstairs mid-morning.

"We're here now though," she said with a tender smile looking at him.

"I don't want to take this for granted."

"You aren't. Matt was just in the wrong place at the wrong time…Been there before myself," she reminded.

"Don't remind me."

"I called Zen"

She continued looking at him.

"I want this stuff out of our house, if we can't come up with a good solution then I'm shutting it down."

She didn't fight him as she once might have, she turned back to watch Cale zooming past her, he'd never needed the training wheels, within a half hour of Logan and her teaching him he'd been doing it on his own. He was strong, quick, clever, but he was just a little boy. An innocent, defenseless against adults, especially adults with guns boy. "If you're looking for a fight you've come to the wrong person." There were days when she just wanted to lock the door and keep both of her men inside with her, safe forever.

"I'm not," he shook his head, "I should have done this awhile ago."

**:End Flashback: **

That room upstairs was bare now. The door taken off its hinges and replaced with a sheet hanging up on a bar attached by shower curtain rings. A boy's secret clubhouse, complete with toy soldiers, periscopes, water balloons for grenades and every other secret clubhouse paraphernalia her son and his friends could gather and a large stash of leggos she couldn't exactly figure out how they fit in.

The former contents of that room now housed at Terminal City where Mole liked being the one to spite the city officials.

Logan was nearly completely out of it by this point. His real life over taken the time he'd once had to devote to it. Others picked up his slack, his expertise becoming a thing of the past as others became acclimated to all the inner workings of the city.

She didn't feel guilty. They'd done their time, Logan had especially done his time. He'd given up just about everything for this city almost including his life on a few occasions. They'd passed the torch onto others and were trying on occasion to live the 'American dream' as best they could.

The reality of which still awaited her for this evening, hopefully Cale wouldn't be too hyped up from all the one-on-one time with his dad to put up much of a fight over his bath and bed.


	84. Epilogue Pt4

**Notes/Explanations: **

**Reason for delay: I moved. **Then I moved back. During the time I had moved mine was the lone computer in a house of 3 adults and 2 kids. Hence the lack of writing for those five/six weeks.

**Reason for further delay**: Man lack of writing really throws you off track. Must get back into it, I promise I'm trying. Feel free to complain when any of the stories sound weird.

**Embedded: **Yes I know that is the story ppl want updated the most. This one however was mostly done. Not to mention that one is in a weird middle section, the lull before the action is proving difficult to write bc I don't really have any proper direction for it, aside from kill time until the chapters I want to write. :-P

**Next new chapter**: I'm thinking it's going to be "Falling In." Embedded has a scene done, but needs at least two more so that will take more time.

**And finally I'm sorry about the delay, thanks always for reading and I hope you enjoy…And I hope my flashes through time aren't too confusing and yea it's not straight ML, so I apologize to those who wanted that. **

**Note that's been waiting to be posted…. **

Oh and **Idlehands** about the culinary school and not having any free time 'at the moment' think you're EVER going to have free time again missy? My friend went to a really great school, got a really great job and we didn't see him again for the next three years until he changed jobs and stopped being a chef (he now runs a place). 'Free time' you make me laugh.

* * *

**Chapter 84 **

_Epilogue-Pt.4 _

* * *

Her head popped into the living room expecting to see Logan and Cale chilling on the couch watching tv, but instead she found just the tv on and no one around. Her eyes started to roll as she shook her head, at his age she'd made her bed with military precision, held her breath for as long as Lydecker wanted, did everything she was asked without question, without complaint…Cale couldn't turn off a tv, a light switch…She _supposed _sheshould be thankful…

He was one decidedly normal little boy. Smarter than others obviously, his reasoning and his memory put more than a few to shame. His physical abilities however no where near where her and her siblings had been, but still…

Billions of dollars of technology had gone into her son, he was primed since his conception to be able to easily infiltrate whatever environment they'd put him into. Take down a nuclear sub, assassinate a president, leap a twenty foot electrically charged fence, all without breaking a sweat and seventy five percent of the time he couldn't manage to turn off the tv when he left it, lights were near impossible for him to ever remember.

She shook her head some more as she walked into the living room, annoyed as she was reassured. He was a normal little boy. Underneath them all, they _were _normal. It had been the training that had made them different. Kids like Cale and Ronnie wouldn't grow up being outsiders, they might be smarter and a lot more physically able, but that didn't create that divide. It had been their training, their environment…Cale would never go to go through the isolation she'd felt for so long. She still felt on the rare occasion.

So with the tv turned off and a controller tucked neatly back into its hiding spot she stood and turned. Her attention being caught by the gaudy leopard print picture frame Original Cindy had given to her upon her move. Her face frozen at 18 stared at her, the early months of being in Seattle and her friendship with Original Cindy.

Her current face contorted to the side as it tended to do when seeing herself in those gold hot pants. Kendra and OC had seen them as they were poking through some stalls at a flea market and refused to take no for an answer. She wondered about how inappropriate it was for a mother of two to have a picture up of herself in gold hot pants, or worse still have them tucked into a drawer upstairs worn only this past summer.

She smiled remembering how they had led to an early night after spending hours convincing Logan to go out in the first place. As OC repeatedly said, 'There's just something about those shorts.'

Still though, maybe it was something about being pregnant, she just felt a little more matronly and those shorts definitely did not coincide with that feeling. So shaking her head she turned away, but then stopped to laugh as her eye was caught again. In Normal's arms half passed out was the 'Marvelous Monty Cora,' he was flanked by Max and Logan grinning and pointing at him.

They'd run into Normal still outside attempting to load Alec into his car. Logan had taken advantage of her boss's Mia induced good mood and suggested a picture so they could remember that night forever, one of the cops had laughing accepted the task of taking the photo with the camera Logan had magically pulled out of his pocket.

She smiled; still sometimes amazed that rocking, awesome chick had ended up with that beautiful, talented man.

But that time seemed so long ago. She could barely remember the time before being with Logan for good, the time before being a mother sometimes seemed a distant fog.

It wasn't only them though, everyone kept growing and changing. Left sometimes near unrecognizable to the people they had been only years ago.

Cindy had been living with her girlfriend for the past three months. Alec had reverted back to his old ways after Asha and chased anything that moved alongside Sketchy as always putting all of Sketch's efforts to shame, though the older fellow did get more than his fair share of ass playing Alec's wingman and had even picked up a few skills.

Zen and Vida moved into a house three doors down on their street that had actually managed to be in worse shape than Sandeman's had been at the start. Their friends putting in their free time to fix it up, just as they had to theirs. More often than not, Max woke up from a mid-afternoon nap to find her son and husband missing and a note.

Vida and Zen kept commenting that they were going to think about starting a family once it was completed and they'd gotten in some practice time with the impending Cale arrival.

However, Max was starting to guess that she may have turned her friend off forever to the thought of having kids after watching her for the past few months; she wasn't exactly sure how people went into this _willingly_.

There were even a handful of kids now at TC. One almost thought impossible pregnancy there. One half-breed they'd managed to swoop in and save in the nick of time. Another one that a really freaked out mom had dropped off, which made Max wonder what exactly she had been doing with a transgenic similar to Mole in the first place and another of an ordinary mom who had no where else to turn with her very un-ordinary baby.

She had no idea what the future held for that part of her clan, Josh was happy spending his days with Luna and the daycare that had been set up for the transgenic offspring, covering them with paint and telling them outlandish stories made up from every fairytale he'd managed to read. His nights he devoted to his art. If he ever wished for more he'd never told Max, she was grateful he'd found a sense of peace in the insane world she'd set him into.

With a sigh she moved away from the bookcase as always wishing there was more she could do, but at the same time not wanting to risk her own sense of peace or more importantly her children's and Logan's.

She paused and zoned out looking at the frames on their mantle…

**-o-o-o- **

**December 22nd, 2024: **

Syl made her way up the stairs to Logan's house annoyed with herself for never bothering to find out where exactly Maxie lived. Then again she'd only been in Seattle twice knowing her sister was here. The first time there had been no point in finding out because her sister had been gone. Her blood had covered Logan's crumpled form in the corner of the van.

Her sister who had been going about her life and planning for the next day up until that crow had appeared. She'd heard her sister's cheery voice as she used Logan's cell asking a friend to swing by and pick up her ride before it got jacked. Syl had been amazed she entrusted it to anyone. 'Bling understands,' she'd smiled acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary and she wasn't getting it herself because the place was swarming with folks from Manticore. Long stares at Logan that resulted in long glares from Zack. Zack had muttered under his breath never actually saying anything aloud to her or Krit, but they both knew big brother's opinion of the relationship.

And then it had just been over.

She'd been over and Zack had been recaptured yet again and the third time was almost the charm for the folks at Manticore regarding their brother.

The next time they, the three of them, her, Krit and Brin had stuck around for less than a day after trying to stop White. Brin never said that she wanted to leave, but it was easy to see just how uneasy Terminal City made her and neither she nor Krit were willing to risk undoing all the progress she'd made by keeping her around so much Manticore.

And the last place she'd seen Max was after a ginormous and truly insane dinner had been Logan's. Where Alec continued to drape himself over her at every opportunity and the looks Krit had been shooting the other fellow made her wonder if he was trying to take over the big brother role, Max had taken a less subtle route and occasionally swatted him away in his bad arm, telling him to buzz off her big sis.

That night they'd been careful not to discuss the things they had lost. The two older kids had run around like maniacs happily reunited with each other, momentarily blissfully free of the pain she was sure to follow when Isabelle's death actually hit them. Her sister's kid had been, well _interesting_. She experienced first hand two temper tantrums within a five hour period, but within moments of them being over the kid would be as happy as a clam. Alec switched between whining and flirting and kept looking for some TLC from her. Brin had been quiet, but that wasn't anything new and Krit, well Krit just kept watching. Spoiling their nephew silly with attention and watching. Trying to make sure everyone really was as okay as they claimed to be.

That was then, this was now and at the moment she continued to be annoyed with herself.

She'd left Jersey, Newark in particular and a rundown apartment above a café. The city had issues before the Pulse and plenty of times afterwards it seemed like chaos was the only thing that ruled it. Then again she wondered if that wasn't the case with most of America. Chaos or dictatorship seemed to be the two choices. She left it mid-day with not much more than the clothes on her back seeking out somewhere sane.

She left Krit a page as she'd hopped on her bike, unsure of where she was heading. She always just seemed to wind up with Krit.

Brin had passed through the hands of just about all of them, but had been with Jondy for the past year somewhere in the Southeast. Zane continued to baby-sit Zack and was therefore off-limits to the rest of them. Diz hadn't been heard from since a sketchy voicemail back in '18 saying she'd be out of touch for awhile. Trace had also left a voicemail a few years back, telling everyone that he and Kat were moving and he didn't want any of them to try to find them. Zack had of course not listened and hit up the last place they'd been and eventually figured out she'd gotten pregnant. They'd taken off, knowing they'd be a hell of a lot safer if the other 10 had no clue where they were. And Nate only seemed to show up when he needed something.

_She'd really thought Jason had loved her. _

Stupid of her to fall for all that crap Zack preached against. Big brother had been right, yet again.

Stupid of her to think she could trust him. At least she'd had enough common sense to test the waters regarding where actually stood about transgenics and while her boyfriend didn't believe as strongly as his friends did that Seattle should just be taken out in one swift nuclear strike, he was okay with the thought of shipping them off to a deserted island and pretending that they never existed_. She'd been about to tell him… _

She rang the doorbell and quickly heard hurried little feet rushing towards her. The door opened and blue eyes peered up through the large crack, "I don't know you."

More feet, larger feet followed right behind, "Cale what have I told you," then paused in his lecture as he approached the door, "Syl," Logan smiled warmly at her.

"At least someone remembers me," she smiled as sapphire eyes continued to look up at her untrusting, especially when his father opened the door more.

"Hey," Max's voice called out as the kitchen door swung open, "who's at the door?"

"Your sister," Logan replied as he turned his body blocking Syl's from Max's view.

"Gonna have to be-"

"She's having a cupcake!" Cale's voice showed his outrage at the frosted delight in his mother's hand.

"It's me little sis," Syl said moving into sight, a little confused at why her sister was at Logan's so early.

"Syl," Max's face brightened, but she didn't rush forward, just stood and smiled in amazement.

"Hello!" Syl's apparently bratty nephew called out, "She's having a cupcake!"

"Yes I can see that Cale," Logan's face showed annoyance with both of them, "you're going to have one in less than four hours and you can have one after school like I promised." Logan continued to look at her sister annoyed.

Max looked slightly sheepish.

"Where's the book-bag I asked you to get five minutes ago?" Logan asked looking down at his son.

Cale continued to glare at his mother as he stalked into the living room.

Logan continued to look slightly annoyed with Max as she walked towards them. "Lecture later, let me hug my big sis first," she smiled as she went to throw her arms around Syl. "Good to see ya sis," Max said as she continued to hug Syl.

"Good to be seen," she smiled as Max pulled back.

"Want a bite?" Max asked throwing the half eaten chocolate cupcake with red frosting in her face. "Quick though before the kid sees you, he turns evil when it comes to dessert," Max continued to smile.

Syl laughed and took a quick bite, which she had to follow up by a quick wipe of her hand to get the frosting off her nose. Max's other hand reached out, but missed being in time to clean off the gunk.

"Holy shit," Syl said grabbing her sister's hand. "Talk about a rock," she said taking in the emerald cut diamonds floating above a wedding band.

"Technically rocks," Max smiled.

"Didn't know people did _rocks_ like this anymore?" Syl smiled as she turned towards Logan.

Logan looked a little sheepish as he smiled and tilted his head.

"He'd be kicked out of his family for anything less," Max teased. He'd change, but only so much. They might live in the wrong end of town, but the inside of their house put plenty of those in the right end to shame.

Cale sighed walking back into the hallway having repacked his bag and all adults turned to the little boy, who continued to look pissed off.

They all stifled a laugh.

Goodbyes followed, a quick kiss to Max's lips from Logan's, a double checking of Logan picking up Cale from school, Max's fingers ruffled the young boy's hair as she said, "See ya kiddo."

He glared up, more at the cupcake than her as he patted his hair back down, "Bye Mom."

Logan unsuccessfully stifled a laugh that time around, "I'll see you in a few hours Syl," he nodded before shuffling his son out the door.

"Really angry about desserts," Max said with large eyes before she laughed.

"Gotta be easy to bribe though," Syl smiled.

"Eh," Max shrugged and took another bite before offering the end to her sister who accepted, " Logan's anti-bribing the kid." Not that she wasn't too, she was just anti telling anyone and always passed the buck off to Logan.

Syl laughed.

"Come to work with me," Max asked suddenly not wanting to leave her sister, but not wanting to risk Normal's wrath just a little more. He let her take off most of Cale's vacation days, except for the occasional ones Gem was taking off as well that coincided with actual busy days. Those were rare though since Ronnie was more than content to spend the day sitting like the little queen Normal was raising her to be in his chair attempting to copy his barking out of orders, fortunately for her she was cute, so the mini Normal routine while scary was also pretty damn cute.

The guy had softened with his father role to the little transgenic with emerald eyes, auburn curls and a splattering of freckles that ran right across her nose. Softened, but hadn't exactly become what one would call a pussycat. She liked her job, it kept her out of the house, she wanted to keep it. "Times like this make me miss Alec and those brief days of Moto-Pony."

Syl just looked at her sister confused, as if she was supposed to know the story.

"Got to actually play on our bikes during daytime hours," she frowned, " Normal ditched that plan real quick after the stand-off, made us too recognizable."

"Ah," Syl's head fell in a quick nod.

"We gotta swing by Alec's grab his bike, since Normal's a tight ass and won't let you use one of the 'company bikes' unless you sign away your soul. You know we should actually blaze if we want to make it to Alec's and get in by his third threat to fire me…After that he just gets pissy," she frowned.

Syl just looked at sister wondering when exactly her sister was going to stop planning their day and give her a real chance to speak. "Or I could actually crash for the next eight hours until you come home since I've slept for about three in the past 5 days." The ride had been long and tedious, avoiding checkpoints where she could, waiting in line at all the rest, spending hours scouring for gas and the few times she'd stopped the pain had sat upon her chest keeping her awake.

"Or you could do that," Max smiled realizing the excitement of seeing her sister for the first time in years had gotten the better of her.

Max lingered for a few more minutes, giving her the lay of the land and what time they'd be home and Syl had meant to crash in the room Max had directed her to after telling her to stash her bike in back, but instead she'd found herself wandering through the house, checking out all the changes that only came from having a female in the house 24/7, even if that female was Max.

Poke through the picture frames that had become more numerous, the photo albums that told the story more in depth.

Like the golden picture frame that held Max in a long white dress, dancing with Logan who was dressed in a suit and a nearly asleep Cale cradled between them. The album told her it had been in their backyard in a white tent and had been attended by many of the people she had met on her last visit into town. She also realized it hadn't been that long ago based on not only how Cale looked, but that convenient little date in the front she'd almost missed due to her impatience.

The lone person in the wooden frame that was Logan standing underneath a banner that read, 'Rounding up to 40' and the evil look that rewarded the photographer.

Logan wearing a white button down with a giant red stain, the cause for that stain obvious since Cale was tucked under his arm sideways looking at the camera with a nearly entirely red face.

_Max wasn't lying about the kid and desserts. _Then again, she could see where he got it from as she found a photograph in the album of Max placing a dollop of frosting upon Logan's nose when he wasn't expecting it.

_'Think that'll be us one day Sylvie?' Jason asked with arms around her waist and a head dropped down to her shoulder. Two grandparents sharing a meal with their grandkids, the grandmother cutting their food as her husband started on his own. _

_'You have more common sense than to try to eat without me," she replied watching them. _

_He laughed, 'You know what I mean.' _

_She smiled, 'I don't know, maybe.' _

_He turned her around in his arms, 'That didn't sound very enthusiastic.' _

_'That's another 40 years away Jason,' she pointed out. _

_'You know,' he smiled, 'you've got to have kids before you have grandkids.' _

_'What are you saying?' _

_'I don't know I'm just saying it's something we should probably think about, we've been together for almost three years Sylvie, I'm turning 30 this year.' _

_She laughed, 'Don't tell me you're having a mid-life crisis already Jase.' _

_'I'm not, but it makes you think,' he said as he continued looking down at her as her fingers plowed through his short dark waves. _

_'What are you thinking?' _

_'That if I were to do that with someone,' his head knocked to the side towards the family, 'I'd want it to be you.' _

_'I suppose talking about it wouldn't hurt,' she smiled. _

_'Talking is nice, but practice…that's even better,' he said sealing it with a kiss. _

How had it all gone wrong so quickly?

_They'd stumbled their way out of the streets and into their apartment, tumbled into bed where they'd made slow and teasing love for one of their last times. _

_The next day they had lunch over at his parents' house where his sister and her two kids lived as well. His father had made one of his numerous comments about 'settling down for good' meaning get married and have kids and Jason had just smiled and nodded, 'We're talking about it Dad.' His mother had nearly leapt up from the table in joy. _

_The moment they'd started their short walk back in the freezing air, regretting their decision about not wasting gas for the short trip she'd started in on him, 'Your mother? You had to tell your mother of all people we were thinking about kids?' _

_'What?' he laughed, 'I just said we were talking about it.' _

_'You're aware every time I see her now she's going to be asking if I'm pregnant and if not then why and when.' _

_'My mom isn't that bad,' he laughed and continued walking. _

_She stopped and stared daggers into his back. _

_He turned and sighed and then ran back to her, 'Come on Syl,' he said throwing an arm around her along with part of his coat, 'it's freezing, you can yell at me inside.' _

Her eyes started to glisten as she continued to barely see the happy family on the pages before her, the fall leaves and the location a hell of a lot more rustic than anything she'd ever seen in Seattle.

She remembered his one track mind as she'd tried to continue their discussion in the apartment, he'd would have none of it. Cold hands had sought out her flesh as layers started to be removed, she'd tried to keep up her side of the argument as she'd pushed away the hands, but they kept returning, lips kept covering hers as she tried to point out the insanity of it.

_'I know one sure fire way to keep my mom quiet,' he said as he hastily started discarding her layers of clothing. _

_'Wow talking about your mom while you're trying to get some, surefire way of having that happen,' she laughed. _

She swallowed hard as she slammed the book shut. A few well poised questions at breakfast as she flipped through an old magazine with an article about how Seattle had been coping with the transgenics. That's when she found out while he felt sorry for them, much like dogs in the pound, he didn't think they should be in mainstream society, instead forever locked in their little cages.

She'd gone off to work as if everything were fine. She'd tried to talk herself into believing it would be different if he knew she was one of those dogs or cats as the case might be. She almost did, just like she almost had throughout her trip, but when it came down to it she couldn't risk it. At least this way she'd been the one to leave.

She'd feigned illness halfway through the day and walked out of the halls that she'd been a nurse in since arriving in Newark thanks to a few easy to forge documents that had made Jason think she was only a year younger than him.

A note was left as she shoved a few things in a bag:

_I'm sorry. I can't do this. _

_I love you, _

_Sylvie _

She realized now she'd run to Max for a reason and that reason was now gone and her sister had managed to score the dream life. She not only had a family, she had a family that knew the truth and continued to love her. Something Syl was starting to think would never happen for her.

--------

**Christmas afternoon: **

Syl couldn't exactly figure out if coming to Seattle had been a good or bad idea. She was surrounded by happy family that made it impossible to continuously feel bad for herself, being too silly and neurotic not to mention just plain nice to allow her to wallow for long and not even being aware they were doing it.

Of course Max and Logan kissing every five minutes or possibly more thanks to the mistletoe hung over the living room entry wasn't exactly a fun thing to witness after a breakup.

They were happy though and she was genuinely happy for them, but it helped to have Original Cindy and Alec around so her single status didn't make her a minority. Not to mention Alec repeatedly hitting on her was helping to make her feel wanted once more.

_Not that she'd ever do anything thing with him… _

He was an oddly nice guy underneath it all. According to Max he was a whore out in the real world, but nestled safe within in family…

He'd thrown a bitch fit, yet he'd let both girls take their own beds instead of forcing them to share. He'd trudged down an old mattress from the attic and bunked in early with Cale who demanded everyone go to bed so Santa could come.

_Ha. Santa. Never expected Max to pull that one. _

Alec though…He and Cale fought at every turn, yet they were constantly trying to please each other. Cale repeatedly forcing Alec to play a new game or try a new toy, Alec begrudgingly agreeing…

They had a weird family dynamic that couldn't exactly be identified, but everyone seemed at peace with.

"Haha," came from Max as she was muffled by the tree branches she'd crawled under. "Santa," she turned and gave Logan a look, "hid one of Aunt Syl's gifts underneath Cale's mountain."

Max tossed back the gift to her sister, "I think you're going to like it," she said with a sly smile.

Her nostrils flared looking at the think package, _great a book. _She quickly discarded the wrapping and stared blankly the gift before her after removing the top.

_It was Zack, _her mind finally realized. Zack smiling with an arm thrown over Zane's shoulders as they sat on the beach at dusk.

She looked up at Max who was smiling, "He looks…"

"Happy?" Max's head tilted.

A half frown, smile as her head shook and she looked down again, "And carefree…I don't know if I've ever…" _seen him happy. _

"I know," Max sombered for a moment before smiling, "you check out the guitar?"

The guitar in the corner of the picture, halfway resting on her brother's sleeping dog, "Don't tell me-"

"Yup the big bro plays the guitar now."

"Now that's just odd," Syl smiled.

She put the picture to the side a few minutes later, deciding it was impolite to dwell over their past.

----

"That would be Bennett," Logan said standing hearing the doorbell later than afternoon, soon after they'd finished their mid-Christmas meal that even Max was showing signs of looking stuffed from.

"His cousin?" Syl asked even though she knew she remembered correctly from Max's brief mention yesterday.

She nodded, "And his wife Marianne and their daughter, Heather."

"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas all," Bennett said walking into the room with a Santa hat on his head, Logan narrowly avoided rolling his eyes.

Max smiled and stood, "Merry Christmas guys," Max smiled to the family. "You remember Original Cindy and Alec."

They all smiled and exchanged holiday related pleasantries.

"And this is my sister, Syl."

"Syl, that's an interesting name is it short for-"

"Nope," Syl smiled and stood to accepted the man's outstretched hand, "just Syl, we're an interesting family."

He laughed, "Somehow I don't doubt that. At least now I finally don't have to keep wondering about Cale's looks, it was a little confusing blaming the milkman," he joked.

Syl saw her sister's face fall the slightest fraction as if her lie were about to be exposed, "Yea well the old man was as Aryan looking as they get."

"Ah," he nodded, "still though you and Max."

"Different mothers," Max threw in the truth.

"Oh," Bennett's good manners prevented his lower lip from remaining down as long as he wanted it to and he lifted his lips up in a smile, knowing the polite thing to do would be move on and never mention this to his mother. "Wish I could have claimed that with my brothers," he smiled.

----

"Guessing Logan's cousin is completely in the dark about certain things," Syl said under her breath as she and Max were in the kitchen preparing coffee.

"Understatement, he knows what our neighbors know," she said pulling down some cups.

"Which is?"

"Cale's ours the old fashioned way. We were in a relationship, we broke up, got back together."

"So nothing about Manticore?"

Max shook her head and looked worried.

"Guessing that means they weren't at your wedding," she smiled trying lighten her sister's mood.

" Logan didn't even want to invite them," but she'd forced him to…

_"Hello," Max said following a quick scoop up of the phone as she continued about her busy morning. _

_"Uh," Bennett was caught off guard by a female answering his cousin's phone, "hi, is Logan around?" _

_"Uh yea, he's just taking out the garbage, who is this?" Max asked frowning as she stepped over a toy making her way down the hallway to the front door. _

_"Bennett, his cousin," he imparted the information with slight hesitation. _

_"Oh hey Ben," she smiled, "it's Max." _

_Surprise once more showed in his voice, "Oh hey Max, how have you been?" Interesting. He hadn't heard Max's voice in his cousin's house in quite some time and even then it hadn't been just after 9am on a Saturday. Which while it had been forbidden previously, he figured it was allowed after Logan's confused sounding message of, 'Give me a call whenever you get this.' _

_"Definitely can't complain yourself?" _

_"Good good, the doctor put Marianne on limited bed rest, but everything's going fine." _

_"That's good to hear," she smiled as she opened the door, Logan smiled as he was walking up the stairs and she nodded at the phone. He jogged up the final few steps. "Hey I've got Logan I'm passing you on," she said into the phone as she mouthed, 'Bennett.' _

_Logan frowned, but accepted the phone, forcing his lips into a smile as he said, "Good morning." _

_He patted Max's behind as they made their way back into the house as he ignored Bennett's greeting and a few ramblings about the time as Max smirked over her shoulder. _

_"Yea no I'm glad you called this early, it's not like Cale let's us sleep past seven anyway." _

_Max paused and turned back as Logan caught what he said. She smiled, he frowned as he cousin repeated the word "Us." _

_Logan shook his head, "Yes 'us' Bennett," he said closing the door. _

_"So let me just get this straight that would be a you and Max, us and not a you and somebody else us, correct?" _

_"Yea Ben that would be it as in Cale only has one room now." _

_His cousin chuckled, "So what brought about this change?" _

_Logan found himself leaning against the staircase watching Max who was watching with a smile making sure the reason behind this phone call was completed, he grinned back, "Turns out we make everyone else we date miserable, so we figured this would be kinder for all." _

_Max shook her head as she laughed silently. _

_"And you just realized this after 5 years?" _

_"Ben…" was all Logan said to his cousin. _

_"Okay, fine I'm sorry I'm happy for you both. So is this why you called me last night?" _

_"Uh no actually it was to see if you wanted to come to a wedding next Saturday night," Logan said rather lackadaisically. _

"Marianne was on bed rest so Bennett didn't feel right leaving her, obviously they've seen a different album than you."

"You ever going to tell them?"

Max's head shook, "Not unless it comes up or the whole country does a flip on their transgenic opinion."

Syl's eyes fell, "Not likely," she muttered.

"Reason for your sudden visit to Seattle?" Max asked.

A shake of her head as Syl began to lie, "Call me old-fashioned, thought you were supposed to spend Christmas with your family," she smirked.

"Uh huh," Max said disbelievingly.

"Coffee's done," she smiled at her sister.

--------

**January 1st, 2025: **

She left the city and started heading south, but she didn't get far before pulling off to the side of the road and digging through her pack for the picture frame folded within her clothing.

_She'd never seen Zack smile like that._

He radiated a sense of peace. Kinda almost like Max did now. Probably like she had done for years in Newark, but hadn't been aware of it.

She saw it in Zack and Zane though. She'd seen it in Max and Logan, not forgetting Cale who was oblivious to the fact that things shouldn't always be perfect.

She stared at that picture and part of her wanted to turn east and run back to that life she'd left. To regain that sense of peace that had suddenly been ripped away from her. She hadn't even been aware of when it snuck up on her. She'd always been looking over her shoulder, but part of her had actually started to dream of a future. She'd shockingly enough started to think it might just happen.

But the years before Newark were too strong. The words she'd listened to her brother speak time and time again couldn't replace the peace he had found without his memory.

She wondered if maybe she should just turn back to Seattle and settle in there safe within her family. She hadn't wanted to leave last night not as Max would interrupt the near lap dance she was giving her husband who seemed a whole lot happier seated at the bar than out on the dance floor to demand her sister stay in Seattle.

Not as she fell hook line and sinker for Alec's charms even though she knew better. It hadn't been all the bs he'd been giving her that all guys gave when trying to get a girl into bed, it was the memory of how he looked with Cale, how he'd go off and do whatever task OC demanded, albeit pouting and complaining the entire time.

He was a good guy and pretty damn good in the sack.

He made her wonder.

Wondered if she just stayed and tried if they could make it work. He had some history, a lost love or something, she knew how that felt.

But still…

The picture once more safely stowed away, her engine started to roar and she ran just like she'd been taught to.

**-o-o-o- **

Max smiled at the picture from two New Year's Eves ago. Everyone dressed in club attire a few tiaras and hats proclaiming the New Year, noisemakers in hands or between lips. She smiled remembering how Logan had somehow managed to end up drunk. Then again it hadn't really been too shocking since Zen seemed to be goading him into taking shot after shot and at the end of the night she'd been more than pleasantly surprised to find out Logan wasn't one of those fall down drunks, but instead decently hyperactive, she'd barely managed to talk him into taking their activities back to the house.

Of course he made up for it the next morning when he hadn't even stirred as she'd gotten dressed to go pick up Cale from Terminal City, said hello to his son then put the pillow over his head once they'd returned, he finally only stumbled out of the room to say goodbye to her sister.

She sighed looking at Syl. Syl who had Alec's arm draped over her in a casual yet possessive manner. She almost thought Alec had talked her sister into staying. Not that she really wanted Alec as a brother-in-law or anything like that, but he was already always around, it would be nice to have her sister around as well, it would almost make up for always having Alec around.

_Man they would have made a cute couple. _She frowned at the thought and then looked around to make sure no one was around to see that lapse in case she'd accidentally said it aloud. Each passing year she softened more and everyone always seemed to take pleasure ribbing her for it. Not Logan, Logan of course gave her that bemused look that she could never be angry at no matter how hard she tried.

She shook her head and turned to the next picture to stop dwelling on things she couldn't change.

**-o-o-o- **

**December 14th 2025:**

"Ah," Alec said clamping a hand over Bennett's shoulder, "Benny boy, so glad you could join us."

Bennett was quickly ushered into the entrance as Alec moved onto a more enjoyable target, instead of the scowl he was getting from Bennett.

"Mar, you're looking amazing," Alec quickly kissed her cheek, greeting her as if he'd met her more than the handful of times he actually had. "Nice to know this little girl is getting all your looks," he smiled at the almost fourteen month girl in Marianne's arms who smiled back through her pacifier, Alec's charms occasionally irresistible. Brown hair, brown eyes, with a purple and white bow holding her hair up in front due to the slow growth of her hair and Marianne getting sick of hearing, 'What a cute little boy!'

"Afternoon Alec," Marianne smiled back.

"Oooh fresh smelling little girl," he said suddenly taking a step back, his hand falling away from the little girl's back.

Marianne laughed.

As Alec shook his head and called out, "OC…Got a job that requires your womanly skills."

She walked over already rolling her eyes.

"Hey Ben," Alec said with a slap to Bennett's back as he turned the man away from the female chatter taking place, "I need to go run out for a few, but Max and Logan are in the kitchen if you want to say hello," Alec said propelling the other man in that direction.

----

Bennett had a smile on his face as he braced himself for what he was going to encounter. Last year he'd gone searching for his cousin halfway through the party and found Max straddling him on a kitchen chair. Granted their clothes were still on, but he wasn't sure long how long they would have stayed on.

His cousin was a bonafide idiot that was the only way to explain it. Six years…He couldn't believe it had taken the guy almost six years to get his life together, to marry the mother of his child. He was pretty sure that proposal should have come around the 'Uh hey Logan, guess what' statement she must have made, if not before.

_At least he'd finally gotten his act together. _

"You know seriously, I can do this myself," her voice light, tinged with humor.

"Oh really then why is half of it ending up on the plate?"

"You two are the poster children for 'Get a room'" Bennett said shaking his head seeing his cousin's arms wrapped around his wife as they decorated cupcakes.

"Hey Bennett," Max said turning back in Logan's arms.

"Hey Ben," Logan nodded and slipped away from his wife, "where's Marianne?"

"Your friend, Original Cindy is showing her somewhere to change Heather's diaper."

"Nice being a male and bailing on that Ben," Max nodded.

"Says the woman frosting cupcakes," Bennett teased back.

Logan's eyes rolled for that.

"Did I miss something?"

"Mr. Mom made the original batch yesterday," Max smiled.

"I leave the house for two hours and I come back to find 6 out of twenty."

"It was all Alec I swear," Max shrugged as she tried not to smile. _Logan__ had said they had a few to spare. _

"He's owning up to two," Logan shook his head not doubting all of their friends had an equal share of blame in their decimation.

"He and OC," Max smiled as she turned mid-icing of a cupcake, "spent half the morning trying to find more icing."

"How many people are coming?" Bennett asked with a nod seeing the brightly decorated cake sitting out on the counter. _Certainly looked big enough. _

"You remember what kids looked like with cake last year?"

"Oh," his eyes widened, "yea."

"Hence the cupcakes."

"Ah," Bennett once more nodded.

"Why don't you go drop that off," Max nodded at the gift in his hands, "grab some snacks and take this one with you, will ya," she gestured at Logan.

Logan laughed, "I've got to grab some more folding chairs, I'll meet you in the living room Ben."

----

"Happy Birthday Mikey," Bennett said walking over with the dinosaur wrapped box containing an ridiculously large steel working backhoe that he had the toy store owner looking for since his last birthday and had only come up with one this past September. "How does it feel to be six?"

"I don't know," the blue eyes looked up paused in his monumental lead in the video game he was playing against Bling who had sat down against his better judgment a half hour ago and had found himself unable to get up. "My birthday isn't until Friday."

"Ah," Bennett said with a shake of his head, "no question who your father is."

Bling laughed.

"Nice to see you again Bling," he nodded with a smile.

"You too," the older man smiled. "Ahh damn!" Bling suddenly cursed realizing his momentary distraction had cost him the game, again.

Cale gave him the same look Logan gave when something was done noticeably wrong, "My dad's not allowed to say that anymore."

"Haha," Bling said standing, "Max tamped down on that word too? What is your dad still allowed to say?"

"If she's anything like Marianne, not much," Bennett smiled.

Bling laughed and started to stand, a knee injury causing him to wince, "Oh to be six again…Sorry sorry five years and 359 days?"

"I see we're still on that," Logan said walking up behind them with the clattering chairs.

"I don't think we're leaving it anytime soon Logan, we should probably put up signs to save people the trouble."

Logan laughed and shook his head, _six might even prove to be more interesting than 5. _"You say hello to your Uncle Bennett?" He asked his son as he leaned the chairs against the wall.

"You know I think we actually missed that step," Bennett smiled. _Like father like son. _

"Hi Uncle Ben, is that for me?" he nodded at the gift as he stood.

Logan sighed, "We're working on that too."

"Haha," Bling fluffed up the back of Cale's hair, "ignore him Cale, today's your day."

Logan laughed as Bennett looked confused, expecting Logan to be annoyed that someone was undermining his parenting.

Cale continued looking at the gift.

"Happy…Almost birthday?" Bennett offered out the gift, "Be care-" his words got caught in his throat as the young boy easy took the gift whose weight had caught him off guard when he first picked it up.

"Thanks Uncle Ben," he smiled down at it, resisting the urge to shake since it had been yelled at him twice already.

"You're welcome," he nodded.

"Why don't you go put that with that with the other ones," his father suggested.

"Can I go wait outside for my friends?" he asked turning around.

"If you can track down Alec and talk him into staying outside with you," Logan nodded.

Cale scowled knowing the older male would make him work for it. "I'm gonna go ask Mom."

Logan laughed once more.

"So when exactly did Alec become his older brother?" Bling asked after watching the bickering interplay between the two youngest males in the house earlier in the day, more noticeable than even the bickering between Max and Alec.

"I think older is pushing it," Logan shook his head with a smile.

**-o-o-o- **

She stared at the picture of Cale dangling in front of Alec by his feet. She remembered snapping it as the two made their way inside after Alec having bought his way into Cale's good graces with a few sparklers he'd kept stashed since the summer.

She and Logan had watched for a few minutes from the window as the two had written their names in the night sky before returning to the adult guests who remained into the early evening.

Alec and Cale had of course entered the house roughhousing as always, the little boy being swung in every direction by the only physically, definitely not mentally, older boy.

_'Uh Alec,' had just passed Logan's lips as Alec started to swing Cale over his shoulder, which Cale followed by a quick burst of vomit. _

_'The kid just yuked on me,' was said with a stunned face as Max and Logan both rushed forward as everyone else jumped back. _

_'Asshole,' Max said reaching Alec first, who gently lifted Cale from over his shoulder to his mother. _

_'Mommy-' the little voice began. _

_'Are you okay baby?' _

_'You said a bad word,' _

_'I know I'm sorry,' she said as she carried the little boy out of the room. _

She rolled her eyes at the memory, quickest end to a party she'd ever seen and she was pretty sure they'd continue to get even more eventful with each passing year.

That thought for some unknown reason made her happy as she went to leave the room.

* * *

**Okay let me point out I am sooo aware there are a multitude of mistakes in this chapter, but at over 7000 words I think my eyes just glaze over them when reading (and yes I do reread several (dozen it seems) times). I apologize as always and hope they didn't bother you too much. **

**Once more thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. **


	85. An Important Birthday

Takes place a child and a half after the last epilogue. All should be self explanatory aside from Original Cindy is at the event later described in the story, she just didn't need to be in the part of it I was sharing. Logan also totally had better words to say when this was thought up last year.

Random: I still love Cale. One day he is getting a totally Cale-centric epilogue.

Thanks for reading!

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-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 85

_An Important Birthday_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_June 3rd 2030_

"Then my dad fell down the stairs," Neal Riddell concluded his speech with a nod and a smile as he struggled to keep the laugh in.

"Uh thank you Neal," Miss Tyson nodded at the dark haired 4th grader, relieved as he finally started to return to his seat, thankful that the year was almost over and she'd never have to have any further contact with his parents because she was pretty sure she'd never be able to look them in the eye again. "Um Cale?" it took her a moment to compose herself enough to call on the fair haired boy behind him, whose skin already held the glow of summer. The second on her list of four Michaels stood, possibly her favorite, he was inquisitive, but never to the point of annoyance. He had a passion for knowledge his mother attributed to his father, the journalist Logan Michael Cale the Second. He also according to his mother had his father's great love of public speaking, which was evident through the slight frown he released before standing.

He cleared his throat as he stood in front of the class, a paper in hand ready to be read, "On Saturday it was the 21st anniversary of the Pulse, so my Uncle Alec decided we should throw it a party because that's a pretty important birthday…"

-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-

_June 1st 2030_

Max groaned as she got caught in the ribs by a stray foot meant to kick a brother invading on his space, her eyes didn't open however for sunlight meant the night was over as was her sleep.

"Stop squirming," the deep male voice on the opposite end of the queen sized bed ordered, he too with his eyes shut.

"He kicked me," Cale wined.

"Nuh uh," the three and a half year old Robby wined back.

"Uh-"

"Don't care," Logan quickly cut off his eldest son.

"Pan-akes?" Jacob, the youngest of the Cales questioned, eager to begin his day.

"Not yet baby," his mother murmured tightening her grasp on the two year old.

"I don't want pancakes," Cale complained, "I want waffles."

"You're having cereal," Logan responded with his head buried in his pillow.

"Waffles sound better than cereal," Max defended.

His eyes opened to glare at his wife who was somewhere underneath the mess of brown hair he saw across the bed. "Don't encourage them."

"Don't punish me because they woke you up."

"Stop talking, we're sleeping."

"I'm not sleeping," Cale pointed out.

"Me-"

Robby and Jay were hushed by their father, "Shh."

"Mom," Robby whined.

Jay squirmed.

"More sleep," their mother whimpered releasing the grasp on her youngest son to hide in the bed sheets.

"But," their voices once more overlapped.

"It isn't even 6," their father complained, ready to prove that grown men did cry if he didn't get more sleep.

"But we're hungry," the eldest argued their position.

"Make you a deal," his mother offered.

Cale's ears perked up, the most trained to recognize how well those words could turn out for him.

"Take them downstairs for an hour, you can each have a single cookie and juice box. Put on a movie and Daddy'll make you waffles when we come down."

"One cookie?"

"There are 23 now, don't think I won't count," Max threatened.

"Keep that in mind if you want to go to the party later," pale green eyes opened to ensure his son he wasn't kidding.

"One cookie," the boy smirked, pleased with himself.

"Okay," Logan said with his eyes closing, "get out of our bed."

Max smirked from hiding place, until she got nailed in the ankle by someone scurrying off the bed, listening as Cale hustled his siblings out of the room and towards cookies.

"Door," Logan called out realizing they were gone, but the door was open.

Max heard her oldest son rush back to the door, "Shouldn't we be able to hear them?"

"No," the quick whine sounded like it came from one of the kids, "why are you so far away," his whine lessened to that of a teenager as he reached out with one hand for her.

"That is the reason," she couldn't help, but giggle as Logan's hand as always was able to make its way to flesh.

"That didn't do it," he let out a low chuckle and his hand moved around her back and started to pull her in closer to him.

"Go away," she laughed as she was finally tugged out of her cocoon.

"Make me," his eyes started to sparkle.

"I thought you were tired," she argued.

"Hmm," he murmured against the shoulder he was kissing, "I was until I realized we were actually in our bed with no chance of being interrupted for a whole hour."

"When was the last time that happened?"

"I don't remember," the kisses started to trail.

"The kids-"

"Will watch cartoons loud enough to blow out their eardrums," he grinned over her.

"When you say it like that Mr. Cale," she laughed.

-o-O-o-

As they walked onto the semi completed job site, nearly forty five minutes after they had been due to arrive they were bombarded with praise over the "Great party."

"Told you, we didn't need to worry," Logan nodded as he shifted Jay in his arms, "Alec and parties," he smiled.

She rolled her eyes at him, knowing Alec he'd thrown all the hot dogs and burgers on the grill at the start so she'd have to scour the city looking for more. She had to admit the party did look as impressive as Alec had promised her it would, which was good considering all the damn work she'd gotten suckered into doing. "Place is coming along well," she hadn't been by the job site in awhile, but the Holiday Inn looking apartment building in Columbus City was at least looking like that again and not a crack house. She'd definitely have to keep an eye on the boys with those balconies though. She was impressed by her grown up kids though too, Logan had been needed for the initial start up funds, along with his ever present ability to work the system. Alec charmed their way through nearly everything else and always kept up the morale of his men. Zen always kept everything going and everyone calm, even when everything was going to hell. And Vida, well Vida did just about everything and she always let her boys know it.

Max normally just pointed out the weak points in their security because after being bombarded by Alec one too many times with a set of blueprints, she had to point out with 3 kids, a husband, a super moody cat and all of Terminal City to deal with the last thing she wanted to do on any possible downtime was work.

She and Logan had both reacted skeptically to Alec's idea of a party commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Pulse. The days surrounding June 1st now beat out all other holidays for suicides. That simple fact was why Alec said he had wanted to do this, and it had caused Logan to smile and nod in agreement.

Hours after their late arrival as Cale and Ronnie were under Normal's lockdown after several attempts to scale the balconies, operate the forklift, Alec had been sure was secure, and join the band onstage, Max was left with just two hellions to watch over as Alec pulled her husband away from her and dragged him on stage.

"Guys, you may not see him much because our venerable boss," Logan rolled his eyes, they referred to him as boss so he could get blamed for any unpopular decisions, "the man behind the curtain, has a way with words that would be wasted on us…" He clapped his best friend/brother/former housewife on the back, "Aside from that permit he got us overnight last week, when we almost had to shut down for a week. That was more beautiful than-" Logan was glaring at this point. "Point is our boss man has a few words to say."

Logan sighed into the microphone as Alec stepped off to the side, "I'd say thanks Alec but," he shrugged. The crowd exploded with laughter and Max couldn't help, but chuckle, Alec would never change. "When Alec first mentioned this party to me and Max," Max's elbow slammed back and nailed Alec in the gut as he started gesturing behind her, there were more chuckles, including Logan's, who had glanced over at her. "We pretty much thought he was crazy. However I think a big part of today and getting through it and every day is family and we've been family for quite a few years now." He chuckled unexpectedly, "That being said, I hope you don't it too personally when my sons and Ronnie manage to bring this place down around us." He smiled out at the crowd and more than several of them, looked over to Cale and Ronnie.

"Don't encourage them," Normal called out to the stage because sure enough their eyes once more held the devilish gleam.

Logan chuckled again to himself and started again, "Alec called today a birthday. I think he might be right, those first few years we were all so desperate to fulfill our own needs and we kept expecting someone else to fix them for us. Then as we got older, we started to lash out, looking for someone to stop us as we did want we wanted and took what we needed, our city crumbled around us and we let it because it seemed impossible. But now these past few years, I've seen this city shift its focus; we started to grown again, to build, to dream. We've matured enough to know that we're the only ones who can heal our city and our families, we're the only ones and every day we restore something, every day we make something better than it had been before the Pulse, we prove we're up to the task of taking care of ourselves and our families-"

Max smiled up at her husband in all of his discomfort as he quickly referenced the endlessness of childhood that disappears as an adult, especially as you begin to care about others more than yourself. How soon it would feel like a blink of an eye and they'd barely be able to recognize the city they had helped to create.

-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-

Cale cleared his throat after the few lines relating the food, his adventures and his father's speech. "My dad says June 1st is a good day because not many people get a single day to look around and see the city they're responsible for creating. My dad says he's proud of the city Seattle is growing up to be and that it's up to us to keep it that way."

Cale looked over nonchalantly as he waited to be dismissed, his unease having disappeared the moment the words had ended. She smiled at him, she wondered if it was wrong to tell a student she was in love with his entire extended family, "I think a birthday party is a wonderful idea." She nodded at him that he could return to his seat, he nearly ran. "`I hope everyone remembers Cale's father's words about responsibility, this is our planet, our city, not just on Earth Day like I told you in April, but year round." She smiled at her next student, "Andrea?"

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End file.
